


Broken Pieces

by Accented_Neutral



Category: Deltarune
Genre: Deltarune - Freeform, Fanfiction, Gen, Get ready for some angst, King of Spades needs to stop, This story has some pretty heavy subjects, just saying lol, really not sure if I should be using the warnings or not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2019-11-04 09:19:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17895779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accented_Neutral/pseuds/Accented_Neutral
Summary: Lancer's dad, the King of Spades, seems pretty preoccupied with his work. As a result, Rouxls Kaard, Duke of Puzzles, takes care of the spade prince most of the time. But what happens when the king suddenly becomes overprotective of Lancer?





	1. Deck of Spades

**Author's Note:**

> So I've thought of doing something like this for a while. Not that it's really honestly good or not. I'm not sure how well this fic will do. But yeah...have fun reading?

The light patter of feet echoed across the vast halls of Card Castle as the prince, Prince Lancer, clutched a brown felted bag tightly against his chest. His breath was heavy and tired, having run a long distance to have such a bag of valuables. After all, the item inside this bag had the potential to help build a better connection to his father. With all the effort he'd put into it, it was worth a shot.

 

Zooming past a necklace of Rudinns and bypassing the castle's obstacles, Lancer made his way to the throne room; the very place that his father would reside. But alas, as he entered the room, there was no one there sitting at the throne. There was only a vacant seat that sat there idly waiting for a much expected owner.

 

Sighing, the spade prince thought of the next place he knew his father might be: the dark fountain. The idea of going there made him feel scared. His father never liked him going to that place, and when he did, the spade king would always get mad and yell at him. It would always make him feel like scum. He didn't want to go there and have to go through that.

 

But no. That shouldn't stop him. That geyser was one of the many reasons he'd had a bad relationship with his father. But he knew if he stood tall, he could get through to him.

 

Clutching the bag closer to his chest, Lancer started forward, heading to the dark fountain. He didn't want to change his mind before it was too late, since having doubt could result in some big mistakes. He walked forward until he found himself at this entrance, stopping only a few feet behind the door's threshold.

 

His dad stood there, gazing thoughtfully into the towering dark fountain before him. Floating calmly above his hands were spades, creating intricate patterns that Lancer knew he couldn't possibly do. Not yet. And for a moment, the spade boy felt at peace seeing how calm his father was. He was so quiet for once, not pushing him around to do anything or get out of the way because of his work. He wanted to speak to him.

 

Forcing down a sudden nervousness, Lancer spoke, "D-dad." He felt just a little bit better about filling the silence. That was, until his father realized standing there.

 

"What are you doing here?" His father suddenly snapped, his whole body tensing. "What did I say about coming here?"

 

Lancer spoke a bit louder, "I just wanted to give you—"

 

"Lancer, not now." The king interrupted. "I'm busy." There it was. The statement that always turned into an argument. The boy suddenly loosened his grip on the bag he held close to him, realizing that he was crinkling the fabric edges into balls.

 

Mustering up a little more courage, Lancer continued, "I wanted to give you something." The king looked confused for a moment.

 

He grunted, "Not now." At this refusal, the spade boy only became more determined to show his father.

 

"But dad, if you just gave me a second—..." Suddenly, Lancer stopped his words, watching as his father's expression became even more annoyed.

 

"Do you not understand, boy?" The king spat. "If I'm busy you do not bother me. How could you not understand that?"

 

"Because..." Lancer stumbled on his words. This was turning into an argument; the opposite of what was supposed to happen. "Be-because......I love you?"

 

"Love me." His dad huffed. He then paused a moment on these words.

 

"I do! And I made this for you!" The spade prince exclaimed, taking a few steps forward and holding out the felt bag. The king looked as Lancer held the bag out in front of him. All the boy wanted was for his father to understand....

 

"What is this?" He asked. Lancer's arms weakened a little, taking another step forward.

 

"It's something for you. I made it..." He replied weakly.

 

After a moment, his dad said, "You're giving me something...?" It was an interesting question. Lancer knew it was too late to back down.

 

"Yep! And I was hoping—"

 

"How weak." The king interrupted. Lancer felt disheartened by those words. The last time he'd said that, it had turned into a lecture. "Give it to me."

 

Lancer felt shocked by what he said. "You mean...you mean you want it?" He asked, hopeful. His father stretched a hand outward in response.

 

Feeling a happy about this, Lancer smiled and handed the bag over, watching as the king took it. He inspected the bag first, going over the delicate fabric inch by inch. Then, carefully opening the top, he looked inside.

 

"Did you make this?" His father asked, looking to his son's hopeful expression.

 

"Yeah. With my own two hands!" Lancer exclaimed. He wanted so bad for his dad to like it. "Do you...do you like it?"

 

His dad paused. He still hadn't taken it out of the bag. Lancer saw that he hadn't. More so, the boy felt a bit nervous now. The king's expression still hadn't faltered from being so stern.

 

"No." He finally replied. "This is worthless to me."

 

Lancer watched as his dad threw the bag and it's beloved contents over the edge, letting it plummet down below. He yelped, scrambling and reaching over the edge as it flew. He couldn't catch it as it descended down below and watched as it made a distant snap on impact. No. He had worked so hard on that. All that hard, love-filled effort...thrown over the edge.

 

Hot tears began to spring into Lancer's eyes, followed by a quiet gasp. "Why." He whispered, hand still extended as if to call his hard-worked masterpiece back up to him.

 

"You're only falling into emotional attachment. My son, if you want to be king one day, you will not do this. It's clear you are not fit to be a king. Not as you are now." His dad said, walking up from behind.

 

Lancer stared down over the cliff, vision blurry. "B-But I..." He whimpered.

 

"Come now, son." The king said, leaning down and putting a hand on his son's shoulder.

 

The weight set down on the saddened boy's side. The hand felt cold and rough, yet powerful against him. He hated it. He hated that his father always did this—this horrible treatment. He forced the hand from off of him, pushing it with all his might.

 

Then, standing with tears trailing, Lancer shouted, "You never loved me. You don't care. You don't care!"

 

He ran. He couldn't stop himself. Why couldn't he stop himself? All that he wanted was to connect with his father. But as he ran farther away, knew this would never end. No matter how many times he could hear his father's distant call to him to come back, no matter how hard he tried, it would never work. His love would never be shared.

 

Never.

  
<•>

  
"No, this puzzle ist FAR frome adequate! I muste recalibrate..." Came the quiet, concentrated words from the amateur puzzle maker. Though admittedly, a lot of his puzzles were very simple; only the push of a couple boxes at most.

 

Rouxls Kaard, recently anointed the Duke of Puzzles, stood pondering the wrongs of such a carefully placed—yet simple—puzzle. Picking up a box from its place on a grid set-up,  he thought of a way that this complication could come to a resolve. He wanted to—no—had to make it better. For what purpose, he did not know.

 

"Let us seeth here..." He mumbled, looking over the vast expanse of options for this box he now held.

 

But something stopped his attention from being dedicated to the puzzle. Rather, he heard the loud and frantic patter of feet as they neared closer to his location. He could hear them just ahead in the next room, coming closer and closer until Lancer darted into view. His arm covered a face wet from tears, accompanied by the occasional whimper.

 

Lancer wiped his face for what seemed like the hundredth time, stopping some twenty feet away from Rouxls. He then looked up to see the man in his work, face filled with something like pained-relief, and ran to him desperately between held-back sobs. The boy clamped his arms around both of his legs, starting to cry.

 

"My prince! Art thou...c-cryinge?" The Duke asked, watching him as he sobbed harder into his legs.

 

In between hiccups, Lancer responded shakily, "I just want him to love me. I worked so hard, I swear! I swear." He repeated those same words a few times, holding even tighter to Rouxls—if that were even possible.

 

Dropping the box that he hadn't realized he was still holding off to the side, Rouxls placed a careful hand atop Lancer's head. The poor boy, so heartbroken by something his father had probably done...it was sickening to see him have to suffer through that abuse.

 

"My god." Rouxls whispered, seeing the spade prince's shaky stature. Sighing, he comfortingly added, "Cometh here. I wante to help thee." Loosening Lancer's tight grip around his legs with one hand, he knelt, taking his other hand and pulling the boy into a hug. Lancer hugged back, wrapping his little arms around the Duke's neck.

 

"I just wanted to—I just wanted to..." Lancer whimpered, burying his face into Rouxls' shoulder.

 

"Shh. Thou art alrighte." Rouxls tried, gently rubbing the spade boy's back. Was he really this heartbroken? Over what?

 

No. Now was not the time to ask. Now was the time to help him get better. Rouxls would make sure of it.

 

♤♧♡♢


	2. Conversations and dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lancer is calmed down by Rouxls. The king doesn't seem okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos! It means a lot! :) Also, expect updates to be slower from here on out.

Lancer hadn't realized how much he had been crying. Most of all, it was hard to keep it in. There were so many times that he'd gone through arguments with his dad and suppressed emotions that; to see them burst out now felt strange...and better.

 

Now, Lancer was sitting at the edge of his bed, calming from his tear fest. He held tightly as best he could onto the stiff uniform his lesser dad (as he'd sometimes called him) wore. As much as he knew that the Duke didn't like it when he stained that uniform, he couldn't care less. But seeing as how comforting he was being, Rouxls probably didn't care either.

 

"Thank you." Lancer sniffed out, wiping the remaining wet stains along his face.

 

"Thou arteth welcome. Anythinge for thee." Rouxls replied, gently rubbing Lancer's shoulder. The boy sniffed again and nodded.

 

"I don't know what I did wrong. I was trying to be nice and...and it all just sort of went bad..." The prince said. He felt so lost. Why his dad was like this was far from answerable, let alone answered at all. He was so obsessed with that fountain.

 

"I...I would'st not sayeth that I disagree withe thee." The Duke agreed. Lancer felt a little better that he was on his side. "He caneth be harde sometimes."

 

"Yeah." The spade prince said, taking in a shaky breath and breathing out in the same manor. "But why? He's my dad. Why doesn't he care about me?" The hopeless question came out more quiet and shaky than anticipated.

 

"Mine Highness is a noble monarch. Howevere, he has duties. As do I, as adversary to lightners and to maketh the most complex puzzles." Rouxls answered. "Sometimes...if thou should'st bother him, he mayeth not like it."

 

"Oh. Oh! So you mean if I don't bother or think about him, he'll love me?" Lancer asked. Yes, this had to make sense. Don't bother him at all and he will love every morsel of you. Of course.

 

Rouxls made a funny expression with concern etched into its features. "N-not...not precisely." Dimming that small ray of hope, Lancer sighed quietly.

 

"So then...what? Do I keep getting his attention? Or...maybe I should ask him during dinner?" The boy asked.

 

"A plenteous curious queries." Rouxls said, smiling. "I would be moste delighted to answer thine questions. But I am'st afraid..." He paused, looking lost. Lancer looked hopeful for an answer, half expecting that maybe this was all so simple. "H-How about what thou did'st him to maketh him mad?"

 

Lancer tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?" He asked, hands falling to the edges of his bed frame. Had the subject changed?

 

"What thou did for thine father to...?" The duke asked calmly. Lancer realized now what he meant, scolding himself for blanking out about that at the back of his mind.

 

"Oh." He said, looking down at his feet at they swung off the edge of the bed. He hesitated, thinking back to how hard he had worked on that hand-crafted masterpiece. It had taken him so long, and especially hard to keep a secret. But now it had fallen from a great height, plummeted into the unknown below, and lost forever to the void.  "It was um..."

 

Lancer felt the weight shift on his bed, and as he looked, Rouxls had shifted slightly so he was now leaning a more comfortable distance away.

 

"It is fine if thou do'st not wish to say." Rouxls said. And Lancer didn't want to. He didn't want to think about it and end up upsetting himself again.

 

Shaking his head, Lancer replied, "I want to, but—" He was then cut short by heavy steps in the distance. "Uh oh..."

 

"Thou should'st not worry." The Duke whispered, getting off of the bed and standing defensively in front of Lancer. The boy watched, body tensing, as his father came into view.

 

Lancer felt his breath waver into a quiet gasp. He couldn't see his father very well, being obscured by the Duke of Puzzles' body. But he didn't care. He didn't want to know the expression his father may have carried, or even see him.

 

"You dare come into my son's room?" The king's voice boomed, causing Lancer to shiver. He gripped the edges of his bed's sheets, making large creases in the fabric.

 

"We were only conversing." Rouxls replied. Lancer watched his cautious stance. It showed signs of protection, something Lancer was grateful for.

 

"Conversing...?" His father huffed. "Pitiful. You have no business with him."

 

"I believe I doth have such privileges. Thou said'st so thine self that I was'st to taketh care of him." Rouxls objected, putting a hand behind him and signaling Lancer to come closer. The spade prince obliged, shifting off of the bed, walking carefully over and grabbing onto his pant leg.

 

"Did I say that?" The king questioned. "Forget whatever it was I said. You will stay away from my son. You have no business with him." Lancer felt confused. His father was completely fine with the Duke taking care of him. Why was he so instant on keeping him away now? It seemed that Rouxls was noticing that too.

 

He started, "Stay away? No, thine Majesty, I'm afraideth that cannot happen." Lancer peeked around Rouxls' leg to see his father with a rather angry expression at the objection.

 

"You dare object orders!" His father shouted.

 

Before Lancer could react, his father reached out, grabbing at Rouxls and causing Lancer to fall. He fell face first into the floor, flashes of light obscuring his vision. He could hear the rustle of the two adults above him, making a commotion. He slipped out of his daze at the sound of a slam against one of his bedroom's walls.

 

His head snapped in that direction, and a loud gasp escaped his mouth. "No, stop it! You're hurting him!" The spade prince suddenly shouted, watching as his dad pushed the duke into the wall and began to squeeze around his neck.

 

"This is what you deserve for taking my son away from me! For making him so much like you, and not me!" His dad shouted, choking Rouxls as he grasped at the king's mighty hand for air.

 

Lancer felt his head go light. He couldn't stop himself as he plunged forward, ramming himself at full force into his father in attempt to stop him. But it only nudged at his leg which shifted slightly against the boy's much smaller weight. "Stop it! Stop!" He screamed, raising a hand up into the air and slamming it down on his father's side again.

 

The king grunted loudly, letting go of Rouxls in the process, and stumbling backwards. Lancer didn't look as he ran over to the duke to make sure he was ok.

 

"You insolent brat! You dare use your attacks on me!" His dad shouted. Lancer looked up for a moment to see he had struck his father by accident with a few spade bullets. They hadn't caused a significant amount of damage, but the impact was far from unnoticeable.

 

Turning from his father back to Rouxls, Lancer spoke shakily, "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" He placed a hand in the duke's shoulder watching as he grabbed around his neck and breathed harshly, coughing hoarsely afterwards.

 

"I am'st alrighte." Came his slightly hoarse and breathy response.

 

"My son, get away from him." His father called. Lancer hesitated to say no. He hated refusing his father for the fact that it never ended well. But thankfully, he didn't have to.

 

"He willeth do no such thinge. Tis clear thou ist not a good father to the boy." Rouxls defended, standing up shakily and rubbing the front part of his neck. Lancer, now taking the opportunity, hid behind the man again as protection.

 

"Come here, now. It's clear I have to teach you some manors." The king then tried, ignoring the Duke of Puzzles' objection. He motioned with one hand extended toward Lancer in attempts to bring him closer. But the offer felt nowhere close to inviting.

 

"I..." Lancer hesitated. "I don't want to." He saw his father's expression shift from becoming mad, to going blank. Gripping tightly to the duke's uniform again, he anticipated his father's next outburst. But it never happened.

 

"Fine." The king said, followed by a heavy sigh. "But you won't be getting dinner tonight. And you will stay locked in your room, away from him." A sturdy finger pointed at Rouxls.

 

"B-but—"

 

"'Tis okay, Lancer. Thou'll be alright." Rouxls reassured, turning slightly and gently patting the boy's head. The spade boy felt better about that.

 

"And you," The king then turned to face the Duke. "You will stay in your own quarters. If I see you try to approach Lancer ever again, you will face the consequences."

 

Lancer watched as Rouxls nodded in reply. "Understood, thine majesty." He finally said. The king nudged his head to the side to tell the duke to leave.

 

"But, dad I..." Lancer interjected in attempt to stop him from leaving.

 

"Enough, Lancer. Stay in your room. I have business to attend to." The king ordered. Both adults—regardless of if they wanted to—walked from out of the room just outside the doorframe. A set of bars made out of spades appeared in front of Lancer, blocking any means of exit or entrance.

 

"Wh...what?" The spade prince exclaimed, realizing what was going on. From between the cracks, he could see the Duke of puzzles carrying a similarly shocked expression.

 

"Thou're locking him up? I am'st against this!" Rouxls protested, standing firmly.

 

"So he stays away from the likes of you." The king replied. "And, speaking of that, come with me." Lancer, afraid to go any closer to the barrier keeping him trapped, helplessly watched as the two talked.

 

"For what, may'st I asketh?"

 

"To... _converse_."

 

Lancer didn't like the way his dad said that or even know what was going on. So in a moment of jumbled thoughts he tried to speak. "Dad, please, I don't want to be here by myself." He shakily called, catching the attention of the two.

 

"You won't be alone, boy. I'll have two guards keeping watch to make sure you don't try anything." His father said as two Rudinns simultaneously came into view.

 

No. Lancer didn't want them.

 

"But I want—"

 

"That's final, Lancer." His dad interrupted, voice booming against the cold walls in his room. The boy quieted, and watched as the two stared along with the necklace of Rudinns.

 

Silence poured down like a heavy blanket, weighing down on the environment. A shift of bodies moved from out of Lancers view and replaced with the two guards, disappearing before he could object any longer.

 

"We're guarding you I guess." A Rudinn said, trying to fill the silence. But Lancer didn't respond. He only stared into an empty void, contemplating the situation he was facing. He was locked in his room; isolated from the outside world and its rare comforts.

 

After a long while, he started to become bored...and hungry. Most of all, he was becoming impatient. He wanted to see Rouxls more than his father, and more that anything really. He was a much better father than the king could ever be. No matter if he wasn't his genetic father, he didn't care. Not to mention that he paid a lot more attention to the boy, regardless of if it was required or not.

 

At the back of his mind, he wondered what they were talking about. Probably about 'staying away'. But that still didn't make sense. Sitting on his bed, Lancer thought about this for a few minutes. It was a strange that his dad would suddenly not want the Duke to be near him. He was always okay with it since he was so busy. But now he'd decided to keep away the duke because...of something. Whatever it was, Lancer wanted to find out.

 

Then a random thought sprang into his head. _The shovel_.

 

Lancer looked around, looking at the various holes he'd remembered digging with a small metal shovel to find worms. It had dug quite a mighty amount of deep holes in the ground; the perfect digging implement. The shovel was bound to be somewhere around and maybe, with what he had, he could dig out of his room.

 

Searching around, he found it under his bed. He remembered putting it there after the time his dad had yelled at him for the holes, at which he quickly hid the shovel for times like this. Well, maybe not what he was thinking of at the moment, but something close to it.

 

Grabbing for the shovel underneath the bed, he slid it out and looked at it. A plan began to form in his mind. He'd start digging when he knew the guards weren't paying close attention to him or their job. But seeing as they weren't very engaged in the idea and very under slept, it wouldn't be long.

 

Gripping the wooden handle tighter, Lancer waited.

 

This would work.

 

It had to.

 

<•>

 

"And don't you dare speak of this to Lancer." The king pushed, walking a distance away from Rouxls, who clutched his forearm tightly.

 

"I won't." Came the duke's quick and quiet reply.

 

"If you do, you remember what I said will happen."

 

"I know."

 

"Head to your quarters. I no longer need you in my presence." The king said, before heading his own way to his own room.

 

Rouxls sighed heavily, weights lifting from off his shoulders and easing his distress. He was mostly relieved to be able to be away from that man. He was the king, a monarch of a whole kingdom, but a cruel one at that. After defeating the other three kings which once ruled the Card Castle, he had become a lot more stern and almost violent toward others. His antics were getting out of control, and more heinous with each passing day. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed the King would not listen. The very concern of it was rising higher now that the duke thought about it.

 

He had been such a good king before. His highness always paid attention to the concerns of the people and family...before the queen of the spades passed. Within some time after the tragic loss, the knight happened; that mysterious figure which appeared one day from out of nowhere. Their words were mysterious, convincing, and targeted only one of the king's of Card Castle. Chaos broke loose for power between the four kings until one king stood victorious among them all. That had happened to be the King of Spades. Three years later, here they were.

 

Shuffling forward, the Duke of puzzles went to his quarters, thinking long and hard at this. He approached the glass doors to his shop, looking inside at the few drawers and jars of condiments about the shelves. Sighing, he pushed the doors open, welcoming the familiar smell of fragrant sauces and worms. At least he had that much to enjoy.

 

But Lancer. The thought alone saddened Rouxls. He liked that boy more than he dared to admit. Though annoying at some moments, his very innocence reminded him of the King of spade's back in the day. He wanted to preserve that. But now, with what the king had said and done, it was too late to stop him from losing that innocent personality.

 

Sighing yet again, Rouxls looked down at his forearm, the sleeve rolled up to his elbow. There, in the center, stood a grim reminder of what consequences were to come from caring so much. He shivered at the thought, pulling the uniform's sleeve back up to his wrist.

 

The Duke made his way to the back of the shop, coming to a hatch in the corner. A square wooden door made from the woods of the forests sat there on the floor, latch locked tight. It looked sturdy and strong compared to him. Taking a moment to stare at this, he finally unlocked the door into an even deeper cavern below.

 

The room was suddenly lit by only candlelights which illuminated one by one until it reached the end of the room. With the warmly lighted area now visible, it was clear what this was.

 

_Home sweet home._

 

It was quite small. Maybe for two people, but even that was hard to consider. Various living necessities could be seen. A kitchenette sat in the corner to the side of him along with a two-person dining table. On the opposite wall of that was a desk tightly cramped into the corner with a candle, were stacks of used and unused paper, and a canister filled with various calligraphy pens. Next to that was a door which lead to a small restroom. Farther into the small abode was a single bed, big enough to sleep on for him.

 

Looking around, the Duke of puzzles felt right at home. It felt so cozy and warm; far from the world outside and it's heavy burdens. He began to put his mind on something to forget for a moment. And now that he was in his own home, he figured a small meal would suffice. Yes, he would make his famous fragrant sauce: Rouxlsroux. That was always a solution to making things feel a little better especially considering how hungry he was.

 

Taking off the uniform he always wore and replacing it with a little more comfortable clothing, the Duke comfortably began to gather ingredients. Most of the ingredients had been halfway prepared when a sudden bump caught Rouxls' attention. It was muffled at first, but became louder. Turning this way and that, he looked around, only to bring him to a barren wall just behind him.

 

Louder now, the wall began to crack, creating large fractures on the smooth surface. Stepping back with an unsteady breath, the Duke watched as the wall gave way, creating a mighty plume of dust and a giant thud. He coughed, fanning away the thick particles which flew into the air.

 

"FINALLY!" Came the words of a familiar voice.

 

Rouxls finally looked, seeing Lancer with a very dented shovel in hand, triumphantly jumping about. Sweat poured down his face, causing splotches of dirt to gather in mounds along his body.

 

"Lancer?"

 

Lancer exclaimed happily, "H-Hi, lesser da—....." But he never finished what he said, as he passed out on the floor.

 

  
♤♧♡♢


	3. That feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our precious bean is going through some stuff. Hopefully his dad won't cause too much stress for him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely apologize for the long delay on this chapter. This was supposed to upload almost two months ago. But alas, school finds the best times to get in the way.

Everything felt foggy.

 

What...happened?

 

Lancer felt a bit sore, spare the strangely comfortable surface beneath him. The feeling felt...vaguely familiar. It was so soft, encasing him in a warm cocoon as it delved deeper into his rather confused mind. He wasn't sure where he was quite yet. Until...

 

A sudden pang of realization hit the spade boy, making him well aware of why he might be there laying comfortably. He had dug a hole long and large enough to make it to...somewhere. He wasn't really sure where or how he was even able to get there so quickly. It was a blank in his memory.

 

Though hazy for a moment, his vision cleared, being met with the warm glow of candles above and around him. It was easy for his eyes to adjust to the dimly lit area, which was nice because a light headache came and passed every now and then. It wasn't very pleasant, though it wasn't as apparent as the lingering questions which clawed at his mind.

 

The sudden smell of something caught Lancer's attention. It smelled good. He'd remembered that he hadn't eaten. Maybe that was why he was so tired after what had happened? He tried shifting his head to see where the smell might be coming from when he suddenly groaned. There were several pains along his body which showed, indicating how much effort he'd put into digging that hole. Still though, he wasn't sure if he knew where it had gotten him.

 

"I see thou'r up." Came a familiar voice. Lancer, despite the aches, looked to see Rouxls standing some feet away. He was by a kitchenette, a pot sitting atop the stovetop where a gentle steam came from inside. The duke was in front of the pot, stirring away with a wooden spoon to keep the pot's contents from burning. He was also wearing rather comfortable clothing; not the uniform Lancer had always seen him wear. There was a long sleeved, deep blue-colored turtleneck sweater made out of a thin material. The pants looked to be a dark, almost black color, and slightly resembled sweatpants. He also wore blue slippers instead of the polished blue shoes. It was strange to see him like this.

 

Lancer asked, "Where...where am I?" It was a curious question, that of which the spade truly didn't know the answer to.

 

"Thou're in mine home." Rouxls answered. He continually stirred the wooden spoon into the pot just in front of him. Lancer tilted his head to the side. He'd never seen his home before...

 

"This is your home?" The spade prince then asked.

 

The duke hummed and nodded, taking out the wooden spoon and tapping it against the side of the pot. "It is beloweth the shop."

 

"You mean you're house is below your shop? Wow, I never knew that!" Lancer exclaimed. How interesting!

 

"Shh. I muste warn thee," Rouxls said in a hushed voice, bringing a finger up to his lips. "Thine father doth not wante thee to be around'st me, remember?" Oh, that's right. Lancer must've forgotten.

 

Nodding, the prince quietly said, "Oh yeah. I forgot." The aches he felt before suddenly came back.

 

"Thou're fine. But telleth me. Did thou really'st dig to mine home?" Rouxls asked, taking two hot pads and wrapping then around the metal handles of the pot. He placed it off to the side on a placemat to cool.

 

"I think so." Lancer replied, scratching at his head. A lot of it felt foggy. He was sure he had. After all, that tunnel he'd created took a lot of hard work.

 

"All by thine self?" Rouxls then asked, coming closer to the boy now.

 

Lancer nodded saying, "Uh huh! But I also used some magic..." He recalled using it to speed up the process, once he was sure he was out of the guard's hearing range. It was incredible to him that he was able to even make a tunnel go so far and make it to the duke of puzzles' house.

 

The duke hummed, tapping a blue finger against his chin for a moment. His brow furrowed slightly, eyes shifting about the floor. After a long and quiet moment, he shook his head and smiled. "Well, enoughe of that. Art thou hungry? I made thine favorite sauce. And I haveth some bread to goeth with that."

 

Lancer felt his stomach begin to growl at those words. He was hungry. The pleasant smell was the result of a lot of that. It made him salivate. "That...that sounds good!"

 

"Come now, sit down. In a moment, I will join thee." Rouxls said, motioning for Lancer to sit at the small dining table. With that, Lancer hopped out the bed. He felt a little unsteady at first, his small legs trying their hardest to balance out on an uneven ground, but he managed.

 

The spade boy hobbled over, putting a foot on a wood bar of a chair and hoisting himself up onto the oaken seat. It felt very comfortable for only being made of wood. He looked over the table which seemed to be made of the same wood. The table looked nearly spotless; a polished wood surface perfect to eat on, spare the few papers written neatly in calligraphy off to one corner.

 

"Here thou art." Rouxls said, placing a small bowl of Rouxlsroux and a plate with slices of bread in front of Lancer. "I'm afraideth this is all I haveth."

 

Lancer smiled, looking down at the small but delicious meal. "It's ok! I'm just glad I get to eat." Lancer happily replied, licking his lips straight after at what he was about to eat. The duke smiled, grabbing some of his own portions and sitting down next to Lancer.

 

"I'm delighted thou is'st fine withe that." Rouxls said. "Go ahead'st and eat. Thou musteth be hungry."

 

At this, Lancer nodded saying, "Yeah. Dad didn't want me to eat. But it's just not fair! I didn't mean to do anything." And it was true. All he had done was try to find some form of comfort away from his father. And crying like he had wasn't much of a help. He felt stupid for crying like that. He was grown up enough not to cry!

 

The duke sighed, "Thine father caneth be lackadaisical toward'st his care for thee. Preoccupied withe the geyser rather than his owneth son...and...and others." The spade prince watched as he grabbed at his forearm tightly for a moment, crinkling the fabric on his clothes slightly. He seemed troubled by something.

 

It was silent for a moment; the world still and slightly heavy. It weighed down on the both of them, filling the environment in a thick suspense. Lancer could almost see concern etched into Rouxls' features. They were filled to the brim with struggle.

 

Finally, Rouxls said, "Ah...it seems I am'st trailing off..."

 

"It's...It's ok!" Lancer tried. He wondered why the Duke was acting like this. Did his dad have to do something with his dad?

 

"Thou're perfectly fine, Lancer. Thou should'st eat before thine food becometh cold." The Duke then said.

 

"Ok." Lancer said and nodded. Though lost a moment about how Rouxls had acted toward that, the spade prince picked up a piece of bread and dipped it into the sauce. He took a bite, munching into a mouthful of flavors that he'd forgotten tasted so good. "Wow, this tastes great!" Lancer exclaimed with a mouthful of bread and sauce stuffed in his mouth. The combinations tasted wonderful together, a flavor worth savoring over anything else.

 

"I am'st glad thou liketh it." Rouxls said, smiling at the boy.

 

After sharing a moment of smiles at each other, they continued to eat at the small meal in a warm silence. It was very nice though. The food tasted great since Lancer had nearly lost privileges to eat for the night, so he hadn't gotten much to eat until now. His dad was pretty upset. Regardless, the meal was one of the best right now.

 

As he munched on a piece of sauce enveloped bread, he began to think. It first trailed to his dad. He was a King and Lancer was the prince. But their relationship felt like only distant friends, not family. It made him sad. Ever since...Mom died. Lancer thought. The dad and loving husband he remembered back when he was around five years old was gone. That was seven years ago. But at least he had a family. Yeah. Especially Rouxls.

 

His lesser dad was much better of a father. It was sometimes pretty hard to call him lesser. He wasn't less in Lancer's eyes, but more; the better dad. All the fun activities, trying to make puzzles, education...a lot of it was because of Rouxls himself. Not his actual dad. 'Lesser' was just something his actual dad had ordered the spade boy to call the duke by. Maybe it was because of...emotional attachment? No...

 

Lancer hadn't realized he had finished a lot of his meal while he thought. Most of the sauce was gone along with half a piece of bread left. It suddenly felt like so little to eat. The portion wasn't fulfilling enough to even be considered a meal anymore in his eyes. But it was okay. He could handle it. All he'd do is store away the upsetting feelings inside of him so that they didn't ever show. It was fine.

 

"Art thou finishede eating?" Rouxls asked, catching Lancer out of his lost daze. He looked up and then down to his plate a few times.

 

"Oh, yep. I am." Lancer replied, pushing the plate of nearly finished food out in front of him. He was still hungry. But he didn't want to bother the Duke about it.

 

He watched as Rouxls took the plate, disposed of the leftover foods, and placed the dirty dishes in a small sink for later. When he turned from this small task, he asked, "How art thou feeling?"

 

The prince seemed to get lost at the question. He wasn't so sure. With everything that's happened, it was hard to tell how he felt. He wanted to say that he wasn't feeling well. Like, he was lost and unsure. But...why should he if it would do nothing? He'd learned that confessing feelings was wrong, just like his father had said. It wouldn't help anyone to say what was on your mind. So he said, "I'm good."

 

"I supposeth...thou seem'st to be bettere." Rouxls quietly said, walking up to Lancer with a careful stride, looking rather unsure at the answer.

 

"I did a pretty rough workout making that hole." Lancer said, pointing to the large hole in one of the walls that he'd made. "So I'm still kinda tired. But I'm ok!" But still, that feeling tugged at him, screaming out how badly it wanted to burst.

 

Nodding thoughtfully, Rouxls repeated, "I suppose." He then added, "Art thou tired'st enoughe to rest, then? I could'st take thee to thine room."

 

"No, it's ok. I'm still boost from the meal." Lancer smiled. Though he was still hungry...but it didn't matter. Again, the Duke nodded, eyes shifting in several directions.

 

"Then how about'st...we playeth a carde game until thou geteth tired?" Rouxls suggested. A card game sounded nice. Yeah. It would help preoccupy Lancer's mind for a little bit instead of all this crap with his dad.

 

"Sounds good to me!" Lancer said, smiling.

 

The prince watched as Rouxls pulled out a box from a small compartment beneath the surface of the table. It was small, made of a brighter colored wood with darker engravings on and around the exterior. It looked just about the right size for a deck of cards to be held in.

 

"Whate should'st we playeth?" Rouxls asked, opening a slot on the top of the box and pulling out the cards from inside. He began to shuffle them.

 

Lancer though about what to play. When he thought about it, he hadn't played many card games before. He mostly made houses out of the cards and never truly used them to play games. He never had many people to play with. But suddenly he remembered something. Of course!

 

"How about that one game called...Bull?" Lancer suggested. It seemed like a better game than any, considering that he'd never played any other games with the cards. The duke looked rather surprised at the suggestion however.

 

"How dost thou know'st aboute that game?" Rouxls questioned. Right. Lancer realized he hadn't told the Duke about that time. Though admittedly, they weren't as close back then.

 

"Oh yeah. I saw some Rudinns were playing it and I asked if I could join." Lancer explained. "It does have a few swears in it but I didn't say them. I wouldn't want to have to take a shower for it!"

 

Rouxls shuffled the cards in his hands again, nodding at the explanation. "I see-eth." He said, placing the newly shuffled deck in between the two of them on the table. "Welle, of thou have'st playde the game, thene we shalt playe." The prince smiled, readying to play a game of bull.

 

They played for a long time, going out on several minutes with each round and a few laughs in between. It was fun putting down each card and secretly hoping for the next card to come down so that no one could call bull. But as the games continued, so did time, becoming later and later into the night. After the tenth game, Lancer started to feel drowsiness kick in, yawning heavily. The duke seemed to notice.

 

"Tis gettinge late. Thou should'st get to bed." Rouxls suggested, shuffling the card deck and putting it back in the box. He then placed the box inside a drawer for later. Yawning once more, Lancer nodded at the idea of sleep. He was getting really sleepy now.

 

"Yeah," He tiredly sighed, "I'm pretty tired." Lancer lazily dragged his feet across the rugged floor and leaned into the duke's leg. He focused onto the dug out passage he'd made, eyes becoming a bit droopy.

 

Rouxls hummed calmly while gently patting Lancer on the shoulder. He said, "Here, I will'st take thee to thine room." Lancer felt two hands on his shoulders turn him around. He could see a blurry version of Rouxls' face in his vision, hues of blue and white intermixing with the warm glow of red-orange candlelights. "Take mine hand."

 

The spade prince focused on a blue hand which stood extended in front of him. He grabbed at it and leaned into it. He yawned for the third time, being tugged along into a darker area. It stayed that way for a while, fertile soil beneath his tired form shifting under his weight as he moved forward into the dark unknown. He could only depend on the hand which securely held to his, pulling him into the dark.

 

He heard a thump and what he thought was a quiet curse coming from the duke. He then could hear Rouxls mutter something, but he was too tired to decipher the words into their correct syllables.

 

A dim light suddenly appeared in Lancer's vision, seeming to come from just above him. He heard the distant sound of the duke's voice again and a warm but slightly muddy hand grab at his own. The numb feeling of tiredness seemed to wear off from his tired being, boosting him with a second wind. He became aware that they were at the entrance of the hole he'd made and was being lead to the entrance's side.

 

"Art thou readye to climbe?" Rouxls asked, shifting slightly so that both fit within the passage. Lancer nodded, digging a foot into the fertile soil as a foothold and making his way out of the hole and onto the surface above. It was his room exactly as he'd left it, spare the large hole in the ground where his bed should be. He turned around to see Rouxls climbing up as well and sliding onto the floor with stains of dark soil along his blue clothes, coloring them a muddy yellow color.

 

Again for the fourth time, Lancer yawned, losing that second wind he had gained. Clearly now, he could see how hard it was to keep his eyes open.

 

Rouxls appeared in the boy's line of blurry sight. "Thou'r tired." And he was. He was very tired. So tired that he leaned into the duke by accident. Ever so slightly, Lancer could hear the steady beat of a heart, pumping steadily and calmly. He could also hear something like muffled chuckles. "Here. I will'st help thee to bed."

 

He felt a hand wrap around his again, pulling the rest of his body over to a comfortable surface. He snuggled into the surface, feeling a cover drape over him and send a warmth traveling across his entire being. For once, his bed actually felt really really good to get a goodnight's rest in.

 

The boy thought of a question which suddenly sprang into his mind.  "Can I come over again tomorrow?" Lancer asked, watching as Rouxls began to climb back down the hole. Looking the boy's way, the Duke smiled and nodded.

 

"So long as thou art willinge and I am'st back frome mine duties." Rouxls replied. "May it be...after thou've had'st supper?"

Lancer nodded.

 

"Then adieu and goodnighteth." Rouxls said, waving and going back into the passage. He felt his bed move, sliding with ease as it covered the hole with him on top of it. It was strange, but he didn't care. He was going to sleep.

 

As he rolled over in his covers, he started to drift into a deep sleep with a thought in mind.

 

Maybe tomorrow would be better.

 

<•>

 

That next afternoon, Lancer waited impatiently by his bedroom entrance, watching bustling guardsmen outside going about their routine to scout the castle and it's various twists and turns. It was almost time for dinner, and afterward he could sneak down the hole and into his 'lesser' dad's home. Still, the boy never considered him to be less. Absentmindedly, he had come to calling him less ever since his actual dad yelled at him for it. Now, it stuck like unwanted pieces of glue he knew would never be able to wash out of his mind.

 

Time ticked away and so did his wandering thoughts. Within a matter of what felt like minutes, it was already time to have dinner. He could see the guards making their way to their own quarters all talking about the food they would have. Most of it sounded like pastries and sweets.

 

Sighing in relief at the sound of supper, Lancer walked from out of his room to go join his father. It made him nervous just thinking about it though. His dad didn't seem like he was in a good mood lately.

 

The spade prince turned around a corner, went down a hall and found himself at the far west wing of the building. There, just at the end of another hall was a larger door to the dining room where only royal people like himself could go.

 

We started his walk to the door when suddenly—

 

"Prince Lancer." A voice called. The spade boy turned to the direction of the voice, meeting eyes with a Rudinn Ranger who stood apprehensively a few feet in front of him. "Why are you heading to the dining room?"

 

Lancer felt confused. Wasn't it obvious that is was time for dinner? "I'm going to go eat with my...my dad." He spoke, unsure of his words.

 

"But the king said you needed to stay in your room." The guard said. That didn't seem to resolve his confusion at all. In fact, it made the boy even more confused than before.

 

"But what about having dinner?" Lancer then asked.

 

"We were ordered to take your meal to your room." The ranger answered. "If you would come with me, I will escort you back to your room to have it." This felt confusing. Why did he have to have dinner in his room? Did his dad say that was against the rules? He'd clearly remembered it that way. But now his dad had turned around and said that he had to now?

 

Thinking long and hard on this, Lancer hesitated to give an answer. He wanted to say no and that he wanted to talk to his dad but he'd had never refused to many people before. Vaguely, he wondered if there was someone who had helped him with that. But shaking this off, he finally came to an answer. He said simply, "Ok." And followed the guard to his room.

 

The walk wasn't far, only a few turns here and a couple long hallways there. But it felt like forever; walking in the long corridors with what Lancer hadn't noticed until now sounded like distant music. But he couldn't focus on that. He was too perplexed about why he was heading to his room rather than to the dinner table with his father to eat.

 

The sounds of the guard's movements came to a halt, momentarily stopping Lancer's though process. "Your room, your highness."

 

Lancer looked at his room's entrance, suddenly feeling the low rumble of his stomach as he stared into its confined walls. He nodded to the guard, not realizing he'd done so and walked into his room, feet dragging over close to the bedside.

 

Another guard—a Hathy—came in with a plate with what looked to be a sandwich. The Hathy placed the plate down on the bed carefully with one of its tentacles. When the spade prince looked, he could see what looked like pity in their expression before they left out of the room.

 

The food on his plate was just not satisfying enough to him the longer he stared at it. It was unappetizing just knowing that he'd eat it alone in his room. But a sudden though came to his head. He remembered the conversation from yesterday with the duke about dinner. Surely Rouxls was done by now, so Lancer could see him.

 

With this idea in mind, the boy picked up a fork from his plate, going to pick up the rest of the utensils on the tray as well. He'd just bring his food down the hole he'd dug and eat there in Rouxls' room regardless of if he was there or not.

 

"Son." Lancer looked up from his food, startled by the dark shadow which now cast across his room. At the foot of the door was his dad, arm crossed across his chest and a stern look etched deeply into his features. The boy put his fork down on the plate, letting it clink against its porcelain surface.

 

"Hi dad." Lancer spoke, words faltering a little into nervousness. Something about his dad felt different. "What are you doing here?"

 

"I've come to talk to you." His dad said, taking a step forward into his room. Lancer, still nervous about the strange demeanor he felt off of his father's being, got up from off his bed hesitantly.

 

Lancer asked, "About what?" Though he wanted to ask more, the prince could only manage that.

 

"This is about that fool you believe to be a friend." His dad replied, face growing darker and more stern. Lancer immediately knew who he was talking about. Rouxls; the only person who ever paid attention to him but he could not see. Now knowing this, the spade boy became just a little more nervous. His dad continued, "I require that you stay away from him, son. There's no need for him to be in your life or exist within your presence at all." Lancer suddenly felt a twinge of something in him at that statement.

 

"But why!?" Lancer suddenly questioned loudly. "Why won't you let me be with someone who actually pays attention to me and makes me feel happy, dad? What is he getting in the way of?"

 

"Your growth as a monarch, son, will deplete if you include that worthless scum in your life." The king replied, voice raising slightly. "The Duke has influenced you to be like him far more than I want. For that, he must be separated from you."

 

"But that's not fair—"

 

"NOTHING is fair as a king, Lancer." His dad snapped, interrupting the boy. Lancer shut himself up, frightened by how loud his dad got. The king then sighed. "If I ever see you near him, you will be punished greatly. Do you understand?" Lancer tried to mutter a yes, but it could barely escape his mouth. "I said, do you understand?"

 

"...F-fine." He muttered quietly. The room went quiet for a moment, the feeling of his dad staring daggers into his being. Lancer wished his dad would leave. The very presence of him made Lancer feel scared. His father, after some time, nodded.

 

"Good." He said. "Now stay in your room and eat. You have no need to go outside. And don't think of attempting escape, especially to that blue fool. I will kill him if you do." Lancer felt a cold pang against his chest at the sound of his dad's words. A quiet gasp escaped his mouth as he looked up at the dark shadow of his father.

 

"B-but you—!" Lancer found himself saying, not really sure what to say next. His dad turned and smiled devilishly at him. The spade prince didn't like the look at all he was being given, so he shut himself up before he said anything else.

 

His dad suddenly turned to go, leaving Lancer in a state of fear he wasn't fond of. It made him cold inside, fearful of those words his father had said. His dad made it past the threshold of the door when a wall of spades like bars appeared. Lancer watched as his gag continues his walk forward, disappearing behind the spades and his doorframe, followed by the fading thump of his heavy footsteps.

 

After a long moment of listening, Lancer let out a sigh of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. Recollecting his thoughts, he turned to his plate of food. He wanted so badly to go to the duke's now. But he feared what might happen f he went down to see him now.

 

If he was caught...would his dad really kill Rouxls?

 

♤♧♡♢


	4. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lancer and Rouxls sure have been dealing with a lot. Lancer is also dealing with some bad nightmares...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SUPER sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I was super busy but at least it's out now. I hope you all who have been reading can forgive me! I hope that the length of this chapter will make up for that.

Rouxls walked along a beaten path, following the twists and turns as they made their way to Card Castle. It had been a long day, fixing some puzzles and improving others. Though, not much had gotten done since he had been so tired lately.

 

Lancer was a constant concern especially with how the king had been acting toward the boy. The king seemed strangely protective lately. More so, the Duke of puzzles had to walk a lot more and waste his precious amount of time working on puzzles just to get from place to place. Things were different ever since the king of spades had done what he'd done.

 

This brought his wandering thoughts to his arm; the very reason he had to walk now. It was the reason he could no longer teleport in a flurry of light or even use advanced attacks. Right now, Rouxls could only manage a few small attacks which barely left a mark on any opposing team.

 

Closer now to the entrance of the castle, Rouxls could see the barred door up ahead. The duke stopped just in front of the gate, signaling to the guards inside to bring up the bars. While he waited, he looked down at his arm. Hesitantly, he pulled the sleeve of his uniform down just enough to see it. It was the very mark prohibiting his advanced abilities. However, the blue man quickly pulled the sleeve back up as the guards came in sight of it.

 

One of the two Hathies waved silently with one of its tentacles. Smiling slightly at the acknowledgment, Rouxls waved back. But he felt nervous about going into the castle. He didn't know why.

 

As soon as the Hathies had given their silent greetings and left, the Duke walked onward into the castle. His steps echoed down the vastness of the halls, something like distant music answering back.

 

Something seemed off. As Rouxls walked farther into the depths of the castle, he seemed to get this strange feeling  like there was something gravely wrong. Like at any moment, there could be something disastrous right around the corner. His pace quickened as a cold but light gust of wind from nowhere lifted into the air, only to stay that way. It sent chills down his spine. The loud clack of his shoes seemed to grow louder as he made his way past deactivated obstacles and the rooms of the guards. The reverberations of the sound lingered for several seconds at a time as if to be in a massive room regardless of how small the hallways were. The echo carried on, seeming to delve deep into his head like drills as they pounded harshly in his mind.

 

The duke started to feel extremely nervous now about something. The echoes get even louder. The walls of the corridors begin to shrink around him. His breath has started to hitch in his throat. Heart starting to pound, blood running cold—

 

"You've arrived later than usual." A deep voice called. Rouxls jumped at the voice, stifling back the sudden urge to yelp in surprise at the noise. He turned around to be faced with the king of spades, seeming mad at something.

 

Stumbling on his words, Rouxls replied, "I was'st caughte up in mine puzzles."

 

"So it seems." The king said, crossing his arms across his mighty chest. After a huff, the king turned directly to the duke. "Don't ever come late again. For now, head to your quarters as normal. If I see you out of your room, you will face the consequences."

 

"Of course thine Majesty." Rouxls said nodding at each of the monarch's words. The king of spades glared strikingly at him, before turning and leaving in the direction of his own quarters. The duke sighed in return to see him leaving.

 

With the King now gone, that nerve wracking feeling seemed to slip away. Now, Rouxls could finally regain his focus and head the rest of the way to his shop. He continued forward, only needing to take a couple more turns before coming in sight of the small shop ahead.

 

As the duke came closer, he soon saw Lancer's room as well, unsurprised to see the door barricaded once again with a wall of spades. It seemed this was starting to become far too normal of an occurrence. It concerned Rouxls that isolation like this wouldn't bode well for the prince.

 

It was just then that Rouxls thought of a good idea. He could always visit the boy whenever; ever since that hole between their two rooms had been dug.  As much of a risk as it was, the blue being knew well enough that their secret passage was secure between the two of them. No one else knew of it. Yes, a visit could potentially help Lancer if he were to be struggling with something, and something told Rouxls that the boy most likely was.

 

With this idea in mind, Rouxls made his way into the shop, greeted by the familiar smells of fragrances and worms as usual. Even still, the familiar waft in the air made things feel just that much better. He walked onward to the back of the shop, behind the counter and its shelves and to the hatch in the corner. Kneeling down, he grabbed the handle and pulled it open into his room below.

 

The duke climbed down the side of the wall, using the footholds to come carefully down. When on the ground, he immediately went to change his garments to a more comfortable pair. His closet doors swung open, brandishing a variety of blue colored clothes and a few extra pairs of his uniform. Rouxls swiftly exchanged clothes and within a few moments, he closed the closet doors with a fresh set of loose clothing.

 

Now that he was dressed in more comfortable attire, Rouxls walked closer to the hole in the wall which he had put a makeshift door over. After gathering a few papers and a calligraphy pen, he opened the door and began to crawl inside.

 

It didn't take long, and before he knew it, the duke was already at Lancer's room. As he approached the entrance way above, he remembered the time before when he'd bumped his head on the passage entrance; the bottom of Lancer's bed. Now though, he could hear something. It sounded like...sniffling.

 

It came to Rouxls suddenly that the boy was likely crying. Knowing this, he gave a quiet and calm knock on the bottom of the bed. The sniffling quieted. Several seconds passed of still silence before the duke heard the bed begin to move above him.

 

Finally, the spade prince came into view. He looked tired, almost sick, with wet streaks across his face from long minutes of straight weeping.

 

"Le...lesser dad...?" The boy whimpered. Rouxls nodded in return.

 

"Am I aloud'st to join thee?" He asked the boy, seeing as he quickly nodded at the question. Carefully then, Rouxls began to climb up onto the sturdy flooring, making sure to use whatever he could to climb up. After he had gotten up onto the floor, the duke turned to say something more. But before he could, Lancer embraced him in a hug.

 

"I'm so glad you're here." Came Lancer's muffled voice which was buried into the crook of Rouxls' neck. The Duke quickly and carefully hugged back, relieved to know that he'd made the right decision to go to Lancer's room.

 

Eventually, after a long hug, Lancer hesitantly let go and said, "I was so worried..."

 

"Worried?" Rouxls asked. Though as he thought, he could only assume it was about the boy's father.

 

"I just...I thought that...that my dad would..." The spade prince stopped as more tears formed. Noticing this, Rouxls sighed calmly and pulled him into another hug, and allowed the boy to cry if he needed it. And he did.

 

It was alarming to know Lancer could be so devastated like this. The King of Spades had emotionally abused the child so much, Rouxls began to worry that he would even go as far as turning to physical abuse instead. If treatment like this continued—abandonment, isolation, mental harm—it wouldn't bode well at all. This only drove the Duke to do something about it even more now.

 

After some time, Lancer had calmed down again enough to speak coherently. "Sorry." He muttered.

 

"What art thou so apologetic fore? There is't no need to holdeth back thy cries." The Duke hushed, still holding Lancer in a close hug.

 

"I know, I just don't think I should cry so much. It's stupid. And my dad will call me weak if I do it." The prince interjected lightly but firmly.

 

"Thy father should'st nevere determine thine way of life. Thou should'st maketh thine own choice to knoweth whether or not thou will'st cry or not." Rouxls said, hoping the boy would know what he meant.

 

"You really think so?" The spade boy asked hopefully.

 

"I do."

 

Looking down at Lancer, he could see a small smile form on his face. The spade prince seemed happy with that. And at least he was glad of that.

 

"Do you think I could come over to your house for a bit?" Lancer then asked. Rouxls smiled, glad to see that the small prince wanted to go to his houses. Of course he wanted Lancer there. It meant, at least to him, that Lancer would at least be safe.

 

"Thou needn't asketh. If courseth I will let thou come." Rouxls said. And within moments, they were off, down the mysterious hole Lancer had dug, back to his home.

 

They spent a long time there together, keeping each other company while Lancer ate his food which had gotten cold. It was pleasant. As tranquil as the candles placed along the walls, the two were comfortable. Rouxls could tell that the boy looked undeniably better than when he had first encountered him. But still, as they held conversation and played a few card games, he could tell that something was bothering him.

 

A strange feeling made him wonder if he'd see the boy again that night...

 

Regardless, they were happy for the moment. It stayed that way until Lancer's bedtime. They climbed back up the hole to Lancer's room, where the duke tucked the boy as best as he could into the spade shaped bed. He then thought of something, as if it would help in some way...whatever that way was.

 

"If thou should'st ever need to come to mine home faster, thou art always welcome to useth the hatch above." Rouxls said, pointing above them to a notexistent hatch. "Tis at the back of the shop."

 

"Right. Thank you." Lancer thanked in return, and then yawned. Thereafter, he said, "Goodnight."

 

"Goodnight my prince."

 

After Rouxls left the boy in his room, leaving back through the hole since Lancer's room was still blocked off, he too went to settle in for the night, hoping for a well rested sleep.

 

<~~~~~~~~>

 

"Son."

 

The words boomed mightily in Lancer's head, creating a presence which seemed to overpower him. The tone didn't seem very pleasant either. All in all, he knew that this wasn't a way you should wake up to your morning.

 

"Dad...?" The boy said, groggy from the heavy sleep he'd been in. He rubbed both eyes with this hand while shifting around in his bed to meet up with the large mass standing at the entrance of his room as it created a dark and eerie shadow across the walls.

 

"It's done. He's dead. Now he won't bother us any longer." His father said. Lancer felt confused. What was he talking about?

 

"What do you mean...?" The boy asked starting to feel something strange.

 

"He's dead, son." His father said once more. Then, he came closer into the light of Lancer's room, showing that he was carrying a body in his arms. Lancer's stomach did a double flip, realizing who it was he was carrying. There in his arms was the body of Rouxls, a large gash across his chest, a deep crimson liquid dripping from where his eyes should be and streaming down his cheeks. He rolled from out of his dad's arms, plopping on the floor and creating a thick pool of blood on the carpet; soaking it in its dark color.

 

The boy could barely breathe. It seemed to suffocate him, causing him to gasp for more air but none came. The air seemed to catch in this throat, squeezing at his threat just looking at the sight.

 

"He won't bother us anymore son. You're free of his influence." His father said, followed by a low bit frantic laughter. It echoed off the walls, Lancer trying desperately to breathe as he heard them become louder and louder. It pierced its way into his head, drilling large holes into his skull as they rang out. The dead body seemed to rot before his eyes. The echoes began to become louder. Louder, louder, louder, LOUDER—

 

Lancer gasped, sitting up straight in his bed in a cold sweat. His heart thumped loudly in his chest, resonating in his ears and through several points along his trembling body. The air in his lungs felt strained, thoughts scattered with fear. Even the room seemed to cast a darker shadow across the walls, sinking in as a cold, unforgiving chill.

 

It was a nightmare. Lancer told himself in his head. But he didn't believe it. Not at all. Every morsel of his being told him that it happened. But he wanted to prove it. He wanted to make sure that his 'lesser' dad wasn't really...—

 

Hesitantly, the boy looked over the edge of his bed to see if he'd see something laying on the floor. There was nothing accept for his bike which mysteriously sat in the middle of the entrance. Catching his breath once again, he shakily got out of bed, going to pick up the bike.

 

He laid it against the wall, proceeding to look at his doorway. The spades weren't there, so he took this chance to go out that way. Tears formed at the edges of his eyes at which he went to wipe them away before they fell. Crying wouldn't help. It never helped. Though he could feel that the inside of him ached just stuffing it down.

 

Looking around, Lancer could see that most of the guards sat sleeping at the sides of his bedroom entrance, not doing their job of making sure he didn't sneak out. But he didn't care. To him, it meant that getting to the duke faster to see if he was...alive would be easier.

 

He made his way to the shop across the way, pushing at the doors to see if they opened. The glass squeaked and rattled against his force, causing the loud noise to ring out harshly. The boy looked around frantically in hopes the guards hadn't heard, but none of the guards seemed disturbed by the noise. Rather, they snoozed away into the night.

 

Knowing that it didn't wake the guards, the prince tried with a little more force this time, the doors giving way and causing him to stumble inside. He fell into the small area as the glass doorways rattled to a close behind him, locking him in. He got up, a little shaken and brushed himself off whilst taking in a deep breath to suppress the ache inside his chest. He looked around, remembering the hatch on the ceiling which he'd been told of. He just hoped it wouldn't be too far. It was quite dark, but quickly, his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Still, it felt scary to be around considering what his nightmare had done. His hands felt along the walls, everything becoming darker and making him nervous.

 

Lancer gasped, feeling the rattle of the wooden frame shake from underneath him as he traveled farther in close to the back. It was the hatch, just like he'd hoped for. He got into his knees, feeling around for the lever to open the passageway. It was hard to find it, his hands only finding the grooves of the wooden door and it's smooth surfaces. It almost gave him anxiety to think that he couldn't find it, and his heart began to race. It couldn't be far. It was here before, it had to be!

 

His hand bumped into a cold metal object which clinked at his touch. There it was, the metal handle. Now with it firmly held in his hand he pulled, popping it open into the dark void below. It looked so dark down there, making him more nervous at what might find within those depths.

 

Taking a deep breath, he went in.

 

Lancer's foot caught hold of the groove in the wall, followed by the next foot hold and then the next. After what felt like an eternity, he reached the floor, feeling the familiar texture of the ground below.

 

He was hesitant at first to turn around, half expecting that maybe his nightmare was right. But as he turned, he was filled with relief. There, he could see an apparent blue face partially covered by a mess of white hair, the audibly visible sound of breathing, or rather, snoring emitting from the source. It filled the boy with relief and caused him to tear up.

 

With tears threatening to spill, he walked, almost ran over past the rest of the small abode to the bed. Then, taking a shaking my hand up to the large bump on the bed, he shook Rouxls to see if he was awake.

 

The duke grunted at first, shifting slightly at Lancer's shake. The boy tried again out of desperation. Rouxls squeezed his eyes shut for a moment at the spade boy's attempt to wake him, taking a long breath in and sighing. When he opened his eyes, he squinted at Lancer through a mess of hair, seeming confused at the sight.

 

"Lancer?" He questioned, shifting slightly.

 

"I..." Lancer started, voice visibly shaking under the pressure of keeping in the terror he'd dreamed. "I had a n-nightmare and..." His voice quivered, tears threatening to spill. He tried to fight back the large lump in his throat. Rouxls suddenly looked worried, lifting himself from beneath the covers and sitting almost upright immediately.

 

"Come here." Rouxls said, extending his arms out in the form of a hug. At that moment, Lancer felt everything crumble and melt, concaving his strength to keep it all in. His tears fell as he lunged for the duke's open arms, letting it all go. Rouxls patted him gently, calmly comforting the boy at he continued to sob somewhat quietly into his chest.

 

It had felt like a long time before Lancer finally calmed down. Now, he sniffed much more quietly than before, listening to the steady beat of the duke's heart against his ear and its tranquil rhythm. Wiping his nose, Lancer sat up and sighed shakily.

 

"Thank you." The spade whispered, voice still audibly shaky.

 

"Anythinge for thee." Rouxls said. Lancer yawned, tiredness finally kicking into his system. "I see thou art getting tirede. Dost thou thinketh thou'r ready to sleep again?"

 

"Y-yeah." Lancer replied, yawning yet again. But he wasn't so sure he could sleep alone. After such a nightmare, who could? "...Can I sleep here tonight?"

 

Rouxls replied happily but calmly, "Of course thou caneth." Lancer smiled warmly at the reply, lying down at the same time as the duke and snuggling underneath the covers. 

 

"Goodnight." Lancer whispered, before he found himself in a much deserved sleep.

 

The next morning, Lancer found himself in his own bed, carefully tucked underneath his own covers. He was very confused. He'd remembered being in the Duke's bed the night before after that nasty nightmare, so he couldn't understand what this meant.

 

That was, until he sat up in bed. Almost immediately as he looked around his room for an answer, he spotted a paper pasted onto the handle of his bike with very distinct calligraphy writing on it.

 

Stretching and yawning for a moment, Lancer hopped out of bed and walked over to read the paper. It read:

 

_Lancer,  
Thou was'st not awake yet, so I broughte thou to thy room. I am'st currently attending mine duties, but if thou would'st liketh to, thou art welcome to cometh to the maze entrance to meete. I should'st arrive withine some time._

_Yours truly,  
RK_

Lancer suddenly felt something warm inside him. Like for once, he was starting to feel happy again. Of course he'd want to go. It was always good to get out once and a while. So he folded the paper, grabbed his bike, and began a much needed adventure.

 

Wind flew past Lancer's face, legs working fast against a mechanical system. It felt exhilarating to feel just a little bit happier. The night's sleep was calm and full of very needed company, so he fell asleep fast. Now, he was awake as ever and ready to start the day. Faster now, he could see the halls of Card Castle change, zipping past him in a blur along with all it's obstacles in between.

 

Suddenly he skidded, almost running into a Rudinn just at the entrance.

 

"Woah! Prince Lancer? What are you doing?" The Rudinn questioned, stumbling backwards at the boy's presence.

 

"Just going for a ride." Lancer replied, bouncing up and down. "And I'm going into high gear!" Before the Rudinn could respond, Lancer kicked a pedal, at which a fire roared behind him and boosted him out of the castle's entrance into the world outside.

 

His bicycle. It was his most beloved possession which he loved to take out on rides. Almost like a pet...if that pet had a lot of energy and caught on fire. But no matter the case, he felt happy to just go.

 

Trees flew by, blurring into scarlet and brown colors. Their leaves rustled when he zoomed past them, disrupting the calm tranquility with his excited nature. The air felt fresh. He felt free. Again, his bike skidded to a complete halt, the fire behind dying down to almost nothing.

 

Just in front of him was the maze. It was very easy to get lost in there, and scary. He wasn't very fond of mazes. That always made him feel lost and confused. Vaguely, he wondered if he had been in there at some point. Like someone had gone in there with him. It wasn't anyone he knew. At least, that's what he could recall. But he never went into the maze too often. He'd often go around it regardless of how long it took compared. He wasn't going to worry about it. He was here and had done exactly as he was told.

 

Any moment now and—

 

"Son." Lancer jumped, shrieking at the sudden deep voice and its familiar tone. He lost all balance on the bike seat, tipping to one side and falling over with a hardy thud into the thin patches of grass below. His bike toppled onto him simultaneously, followed by loud clacking of metal on metal and metal on flesh. His leg suddenly hurt.

 

"Ouch!" The boy cried, looking down and seeing that his bike had scraped a nasty cut into the side of his calf, even cutting through the clothes. It began to bleed, staining the clothing he wore. It hurt badly, but it soon became the least of his worries as a looming figure caught his eye. "D-dad..?"

 

His father stood before him, looking down at him. He had a straight face, which seemed like it was straining to form a smile at the edges. He questioned, "Why are you out here?"

 

The spade prince felt confused, wondering what he meant. "What do you mean?" Lancer asked in return.

 

"I gave you specific orders that you are not to leave the castle or your room." His dad said, expression starting to become a bit more angry. "So what are you doing out here?"

 

"I was just..." Lancer was at a loss for words. Of course he knew why he was here. He was here to wait for Rouxls. That was the whole point of biking here. "I was...was just going for a bike ride..." He felt nervous talking to his father like this. He began shifting under the weight of the bike. "How...how did you get here?" Now that he'd asked the question, it started to nag at him. He would have noticed his dad, surely and not be startled by him like he had.

 

"A guard informed me of your leaving the castle." The King replied, followed by a heavy sigh. "You will come with me. You shall not stay here any longer."

 

The spade prince didn't want to leave. He was really hoping to see the duke today. "But I—"

 

"Now, Lancer." His dad pushed, foot coming down forcefully onto the ground and creating a dull thud.

 

Lancer shook his head, trying to say no. He was almost afraid to say anything else. Rejecting orders from his father always made things bad. Always. But he couldn't just leave! Not with Rouxls coming.

 

"Do I have to repeat myself?" His father pushed, body going tense with annoyance.

 

"I—"

 

"Mine Highnesse?" Lancer suddenly perked up at the sound of the voice. Finally, he had someone to support him. He looked over to see Rouxls standing there with a confused expression. A satchel hung to his side and he was wearing his uniform clad in navy blue. "What art thoust doing here?"

 

A rather angry sigh came from the king. He replied, "Taking my son back to the castle." Without warning, Lancer felt a large hand roughly grab at his smaller one, hoisting him up into the air from beneath his bicycle. It aggravated the wound on his leg which he'd nearly forgotten he'd had.

 

"Ow, dad!" Lancer suddenly cried, grabbing at the wound which had started to bleed more.

 

"You will be fine. Stop whining." His dad snapped, tugging the boy's hand closer to him and farther away from the bicycle and the duke.

 

"Thine Majesty, the boy iseth hurt. He is'st in neede of help." Rouxls tried, approaching the two carefully. "I-I could'st healeth him." Lancer, trying hard not to step and accidentally aggravate the wound further, nodded in return.

 

"Please, dad! It hurts." Lancer called, limping weakly on from the wound. If he let him, Lancer could at least talk to the duke without having to be sneaky about it. Plus, the boy didn't even know how to heal. His father, for a moment, hesitated. He seemed deep in thought, hand tightening and loosening around Lancer's smaller one.

 

After a moment, the king gruffly replied, "No. He will be fine without your assistance. Now leave us. You have some puzzles to attend to, don't you?" Lancer felt defeated.

 

"I was'st returninge to the castle to retrieve partse for the puzzles." The Duke replied, taking a step closer.

 

The king sighed. "Fine, get your parts. But stay away from my son." He then snapped his fingers, the sound echoing from the source as if to be in a large, empty room. The world around Lancer shifted, spinning rapidly into a mix of colors that didn't quite make sense. They shifted in and out of view, disorienting him and causing him to shut his eyes tight. When it stopped, he opened his eyes and saw himself back at the entrance to his room.

 

"Wh...what?" Lancer suddenly questioned, feeling the grip on his hand loosen. Had his father just teleported them?

 

"You will stay in your room. If I or anyone else sees you escape again, you will face the consequences." His dad said. He then turned around, readying to leave his son at the entrance. "No one will see you but me. Is that clear?"

 

Lancer, confused and limping, asked, "How did we get here so fast?"

 

"My power. That is all."

 

Still, the prince felt confused. How come his dad could teleport? Was that the fountain's fault? What that part of why he had become so overprotective? "Power?" Lancer asked, hobbling a little bit closer to his father's side.

 

"I won't repeat myself again."

 

Lancer sighed. "What about my bike? You just left it there.."

 

"It will stay there if it means preventing you from the outside world."

 

"But why?"

 

"You belong here in the castle."

 

"But—"

 

"Lancer." His dad snapped. "Go to your room, now." Not wanting to push any longer, the boy obeyed, limping over to the room and walking inside.

 

A wall of spades emerged from the ground again, blocking any means of exit or entrance to his room. He only stared at his father as he glared down, seeing the harsh look he was being given.

 

"If you so much as attempt to leave your room, you will be punished." His dad said, still glaring. "And I will take it as far as physical contact if you go near that man you dare call a 'father'."

 

The boy nodded, heart rate picking up as those words left his dad's mouth. His father sighed and mumbled something under his breath before turning and leaving somewhere Lancer could hardly care about. Probably the fountain if he thought about it. But he didn't.

 

He was too frozen. His dad didn't mean it, did he? No, he would punish lancer like that! He never had. There was no way he couldn't...but vaguely still, he felt like his dad had done something like that before. Like he knew that at one point his dad had gone that far, but he didn't know when.

 

Shaking this off, the boy went into his state of solitude, realizing he was now blocked off from most of the world again. Now left on his own for who knew how long, he began to pull himself together. Lancer was about to head to his bed when he suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot though his leg. It was just then he remembered the large wound in his leg from when he fell off his bike moments ago.  Feeling the singeing pain, the boy cried out, trying to muffle the sound however he could to not cause attention. Simultaneously, he fell down, barely catching himself with his arms. The fall hurt, but not as bad as the gash in his leg.

 

Lancer twisted himself in an odd manner out of panic to see the wound and its condition. It felt and looked like it was still bleeding badly, pulsing with deep crimson color. He was suddenly reminded of his nightmare.

 

Out of pure confusion and loss of breath, Lancer tried the one thing he knew nothing about: healing. He extended his hands toward the wound, shifting uncomfortably, and trying to focus. Magic tingled at the tips of his fingers, pulling at his strength as he tried to heal the gash in his leg. But it only seemed to hurt, so he stopped and stifled back the urge to cry.

 

"Princeth...!" Lancer perked up, fighting the pain as he looked to see Rouxls coming up from where Lancer had dug the hole with a concerned looked etched into his features.

 

Relief.

 

Lancer gasped, "L-Lesser dad!" Watching as the duke scrambled over hastily to him.

 

"Here, alloweth me to helpeth thee." Rouxls urged, holding Lancer's hand and carefully sitting him upright against the frame of the spade-shaped bed.

 

When the spade boy was sit upright enough, he asked, "Y-you came...! But why? Aren't you supposed to be doing those-ah-puzzle things?"

 

The duke answered, "That was'st just an excuseth to see thee and to maketh sure thou were'st alright. I could not leaveth thou in such a conditione." More relieved, he went to thank Rouxls but quickly hissed at the harsh pain which shot once again from his lower leg. The duke hushed him.

 

"I knoweth thou art hurt." He began. "Don't worry. I will healeth thee." At this, Lancer lightly nodded.

 

The spade then thought of something. "Wait," Lancer started, fighting the pain. "I...I want to try." He then reached out his arm toward the wound to show the duke what he meant.

 

"Thou wanteth...to heal it thyself?" Rouxls asked, looking uncertain about what Lancer wanted to do. But the spade boy was more than certain to try it himself.

 

"I want to try." Lancer repeated. "But I would like some help. Could you teach me how?" The boy noticed the expression in Rouxls' face look surprised at the request he'd just given. Lancer was almost about to not do it when...

 

"Alright." He heard the Duke say. Lancer was surprised himself now.

 

"R...really?" Lancer said, pushing down another surge of pains as he shifted to see the certainty in the blue figure's approval.

 

"Let's not get too excited." Rouxls said, taking on a more serious tone. It was also strange, like something had suddenly changed about his lesser dad. Yet he couldn't quite tell what since he was still battling pain.

 

"Right." Lancer then said, turning to the wound. He then breathed in deeply as if to ease the pain. "Tell me how."

 

"You have to focus." Rouxls then began, putting a gentle hand in the spade's shoulder. But Lancer didn't feel it. He did as he was told, and focused as hard as he could amidst the pains. "Now, outstretch your hands before the wounded area." Lancer directed his hands at the gash in his leg. "Feel the magic in your hands. Channel it all through yourself." Everything seemed to dim around the boy as a pulse of energy began to resonate throughout the entirety of his soul. "And..."

 

Before Lancer realized it, green magic began to flow through the tips of his fingers, linking itself to the bloodied mess on his leg and starting to heal. The spade prince gasped at the sight, still trying hard to heal as he watched the green particles dance across the wound with grace. His leg tingled with green magic, making it feel something like the way warmth feels after a long time in the cold. Or how a bath feels with bubbles in it.

 

But however Lancer could describe the feeling, it was working like a charm. Before he knew it, he had sealed the wound perfectly. Again the spade boy gasped, seeing his success. "I did it!" He exclaimed joyously.

 

"Congratulations my princeth!" Rouxls exclaimed in return, clapping his hands and smiling proudly. "I know thou could'st do it."

 

Lancer giggled lightly at that. It was nice. For once he felt happy to finally see someone appreciate what he'd done, to receive much deserved praises from someone he knew he could trust.

 

"Yeah." The boy sighed, looking once again down at his leg where his injury now wasn't. Had he really done that?

 

"Now, tis best for thou to stande. We should'st see if thou art stable enoughe." Rouxls then said, extending his hand to help Lancer stand up. He gladly took the welcoming hand and stood up with ease, half expecting the pain to emerge once again. But it didn't. "Ah, perfect. Thou has'st done a marvelous job of healing."

 

"I couldn't have done it without your help!" Lancer smiled back. After a small but nice pause, he added, "Thank you." And as he did, he leaned in and gave the Duke a hug. He pressed himself into his lesser dad, wrapping his arms around his neck and receiving arms which too wrapped around him tightly.

 

"Thou'r welcome."

 

Some time passed as Lancer and his lesser dad began to talk. They had small conversation, rarely talking about anything the both of them were dealing with together.

 

Countless hours went by as the two soon found themselves below the shop again in the duke's home, using the mysterious hole Lancer had dug to get there without a problem.

 

They played card games, ate a much deserved larger meal than before, and spent more time together. And Lancer, even if just for a moment, thought of Rouxls as real family. It was almost as if he had finally found his real one again.

 

A lot had happened that day. But finally things ended well. In no time at all, things began to feel better.

 

♤♧♡♢


	5. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While things have been going okay for Lancer and Rouxls, it appears that the king has finally reached his final straw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo again everyone! I'm back with another chapter, haha. And it came out relatively fast too. I just. 0-0 Ok so maybe something happens. Just...please don't hate me?

Two weeks had passed. Lancer, now feeling better enough to not doubt visiting his 'lesser' dad, had visited countless times now whenever he could. He'd visit by morning, wait during the day, and visit again during the afternoon. And it had worked like a charm. That hole he'd dug was the perfect way to get what he wanted so everyone could be happy.

 

It was also good to mention that he'd done a lot of activities with his 'lesser' dad as well. From listening to an hours worth of cartoon splat noises to digging for worms underground, it was fun. Never had Lancer ever felt so free again. He hoped it could stay that way.

 

Now, both of them were sitting below the shop at the duke's home, playing a card game which Lancer had made up. It was pretty fun, but never had he won at the game. Even if the spade prince had invented it, he couldn't win at it. But this time he could see a card in his bunch which would really work well to win the match. It would be his first win so long as the duke didn't have something better. It was worth a shot! Lancer pulled out the card from his handful, placing it down valiantly. "Ha! I beat you!"

 

Rouxls gasped comically, "Thou has'st bestede me! Truly a—" But he stopped at the sound of heavy footsteps, coming closer and closer to their location with angry intent. Lancer looked up fearfully at the hatch above, seeing it rattle harshly under the intensity of the loud, booming of footsteps.

 

"ROUXLS KAARD!" Came the rage-filled word from the spade king, at which more booming footsteps and a loud bang of glass doors could be heard. Everything suddenly became heavy around the spade prince, filling him with ice cold fear.

 

"Oh no." Lancer shakily whispered, trying to catch his breath as it hitched out of desperation. The cards in his hands slipped from his grasp, vision tunneling slightly.

 

Rouxls brought his hands up to his mouth like a cone and called, "In mine quarters thine highnesse!" He then turned to Lancer. "Stay here. I will be back. Leave if anything goes wrong and get out as quickly as you can, alright?"

 

Lancer nodded without realizing it, breath wavering thin. His father couldn't know about his little escape. He couldn't know about the fact that he'd been spending time with the Duke. This couldn't be another thing his dad would ruin. No. This can't happen.

 

The boy shook his head, trying to refocus and taking in a deep breath. He then looked, seeing as Rouxls got out of his chair and began to climb up the wall to the hatch. It wasn't long; a simple click of the hatch and the duke was out of sight. Now more aware of himself and everything, Lancer got out of his chair too, seeing the hatch slam harshly down with a sharp clack of the hatch buckle. He couldn't help at all. He was stuck. Knowing well that he couldn't do anything else besides wait, he listened.

 

"What art thoust doinge here?" Rouxls questioned. Lancer came closer to the hatch to hear the conversation clearer.

 

"Don't play these tricks with me, Kaard. I KNOW you are keeping my son!" His dad yelled in return.

 

"Keeping thy son? With me?" Rouxls then seemed to hesitantly question. "Thine majesty, art thou sure? Why would'st I ever keep thine son with me?"

 

"So you'd rather lie to me?"

 

"I would'st never lie to thee. I assure thou, the boy is't not here."

 

"Then where would he be?"

 

"How woulde I know'st? His royal highness is'st not here."

 

"So you're playing dumb then, are you?"

 

"My liege—" Lancer gasped, hearing a sudden slam against one of the walls followed by a loud cry.

 

"Do you think I'm stupid? My son was not there when I went to his room, nor was he anywhere in the castle." Lancer felt his breathing go faster, heart thumping loudly in his ears. "Guards had reported no sign of him anywhere. And here you are, earlier than you ever have been all to go in your quarters?"

 

"I...I don't have...your...your son..." Lancer heard a low growl and another cry, followed by a gasp.

 

"So you'd rather me force it out of you?"

 

"No I—" A loud bang followed by a shatter of glass rang out. Then, sounds of stifled choking.

 

He had to do something. He had to. He had to do it. He had to stop whatever his dad was doing to the duke. Lancer knew...he just had to. Without thinking about it, he began to climb, and pushed open the hatch door. It clattered loudly against the wall as he scrambled to reach the surface. Jumping out, he shouted, "No stop, don't hurt him!"

 

The spade boy was suddenly greeted to the unwelcoming sight of his dad's hand wrapped tightly around Rouxls' neck, posture tense with pure undiluted anger. One of the shop's glass doors had been shattered, scattered across the floor like dust; the very door the duke had been slammed against. His dad turned, grunting at the sight of Lancer as he stood there horrified at the scene.

 

"Well would you look at this." His dad grinned menacingly. A terrified choke came from Rouxls, and when Lancer looked, he could see the frightened expression the duke wore, similar to the expression the spade prince now held.

 

"Dad, please, let him go!" Lancer shouted louder, more frantic as the loud thumping in his ears heightened. The king of spades glared, looking back to the duke who grabbed hastily at the hand around his neck.

 

Sounds of muffled shattered glass erupted as the spade boy saw that his dad had obliged; letting go of Rouxls and letting him drop to the glass shard-speckled floor below. Relief coursed through Lancer's being as he let out a blow of air and ran over to see if his lesser dad was okay. As he watched, the duke look in a large amount of air and began to cough.

 

"Are...are you okay?" Lancer frantically asked, looking to see if he was truly in a good state. But before he could get the answer, he felt a rough hand wrap around his arm, pulling him away. The spade boy yelped, feeling his dad pull him up and away from the duke.

 

He was then turned around to face his dad's rather angry face. "You dare come here when you KNOW I ordered you not to." His dad spat into his face. "Pathetic son!" Lancer yelped again, feeling the sudden swoosh of air as he tumbled across the floor.

 

"Thy Majesty, no, don't you dare!" Rouxls shouted.

 

The king growled, and as Lancer looked, his dad loomed over him, casting a large and terrifying shadow across the floor where he lay. "Tell me! How have you been sneaking out of your room!" His dad roared, Lancer curling slightly into a ball. He was terrified, unable to speak, losing breath, loud thumping in his ears. It was all falling down around him faster than he wanted.

 

"I-I...I just...I just...!" Lancer tried to speak, voice coming barely above a whisper. Even now, he couldn't think, could barely process his words before they escaped his mouth.

 

"Sire, please don't scare the boy!" Rouxls tried again, approaching the two. The king sighed loudly, angrily.

 

"You dare interrupt us again!" His dad yelled, turning to face Rouxls in a fashion that Lancer could only assume was to hurt him again. The spade prince stood up quicker than he could think, extending both hands out.

 

Frantically, Lancer shouted, "MY BED! IT'S UNDER MY BED!"

 

His dad paused.

 

Everything went  s t i l l.

 

"Your bed." His father spoke.

 

"Y...yes." Lancer breathed, still at a loss for breath. "Check...check if...if you don't believe me. I promise you it's there."

 

His dad stared for a moment. Slowly, he turned, heading out of the room they were in. In turn, Lancer followed, his legs seeming to carry him forward without his knowledge. As he walked, his feet crunched harshly against the shards of glass. It was hard to catch his breath still, feeling the sharp pokes of each piece of glass as he traveled across them.

 

He never noticed as Rouxls followed close behind him. Nor could he feel anything but ice cold fear. His dad was finding out. He was going to ruin it all.

 

His dad soon turned into his room, Lancer watching him stare at the bed as he turned the corner. Spades shaped themselves above his dad's head, circling calmly until...—

 

BAM

 

Lancer gasped, feeling the loud rumble rattle his entire body with its force. It seemed to continue on for several seconds all in a row as it shook the ground, but sounded quieter compared to the loud violent thumping in his ears.

 

Finally, it stopped. Lancer opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them and looked. His heart thumped louder, harder at the sights. Broken wood beams, burnt stuffing, torn fabric...all scattered about the floor with merciless intent. Still, some of it seemed to fall from the air, creating plumes of dust as the traveled outward from the source.

 

"Impossible." His father said looking as if he'd taken a step back at the secret he'd revealed. Lancer only stared, body becoming numb to the ice cold fear running through his veins. The silence seemed to grow as the dust settled. It seemed as though an eternity had passed. After forever, his dad finally spoke. "I can't believe you."

 

Lancer took in a sharp breath, not meaning to do so. "D-dad I...I'm—"

 

"After every warning I've given you...after EVERY order and threat! You still test me." His father growled. "You are such a disgrace to me."

 

Lancer felt a pang within his heart. His lip began to quiver. "I'm sorry...I..."

 

"Pathetic." His father continued. "Apologies cannot fix this. Insolent brat!" The king suddenly turned, facing the spade boy in fury and approaching him. "Come here." Without warning, his dad grabbed at his hand, contorting it in a uncomfortable position.

 

"Ow, ow! No, stop!" Lancer cried, tugging hard against his dad's brute force.

 

"No, thy Majesty, no!" Lancer heard the duke call in return. When Lancer turned to try and call out to his lesser dad, he felt a swoosh of air before slamming the floor harshly. He could only assume his dad had made it happen.

 

"You will stay here. Do not try to escape. And don't you dare ever do something like this again." His father said. But Lancer could hardly hear him. He instead pushed himself up, to try and stand. But he just couldn't.

 

Something warm began to travel down Lancer's face. It felt wet when he touched it, yet seemed to dry as it thinned. It was only then he realized he was crying. Wiping the tears away, he pushed himself up against the wall into a half-sitting position, sniffling.

 

The sound of something strange sounded from beside him. As he looked, he could see his dad beginning to seal up the hole.

 

"No, please, don't...!" Lancer tried to call, only managing to have it come above a whisper. He leaned over weakly, having all his energy drained from all the anxiety. All he could do was watch. His outstretched hand curled into a ball, which he pounded against the floor. But even that was tiring.

 

Before long, the hole was sealed. His dad grunted one final time, looking disgustedly at Lancer and then walking out the door. And all he could do was cry.

 

"Sire, why—"

 

"You're coming with me." His dad grumbled, grabbing at Rouxls' arm and interrupting his sentence.

 

"Where are we—"

 

"To the throne room."

 

Lancer went to try and stop it, but drowsiness got the best of him. It was clear he was tired.

Struggling, he tried to crawl to them. But it was too late.

 

Everything had gone black.

 

<•>

 

No. He had to get back to Lancer. He had to. Rouxls tugged at the king's tight hold around his forearm, trying desperately to get away just so he could get to Lancer to see if he was okay. "Unhand me! Thine Majesty, leteth go!" He felt the grip around his arm tighten.

 

"No. You're coming with me whether you like it or not." The King shouted at him. Rouxls furrowed his eyebrows, sighing in return and ready to retaliate. However, he was interrupted by the sudden jolt of his whole body as he felt himself get thrown into the throne room. The shock practically knocked almost all the wind out of him. When he turned, the king was practically on top of him.

 

"What is'st the meaning of thiseth?" The Duke questioned.

 

"You will tell me everything you two have done. Everything." The king ordered, glaring harshly. Rouxls thought for a moment, well aware of how at stake he was of well...anything.

 

"Not untile I can see-eth Lancer." Rouxls then said. "Thou've treated him iniquitously, and I don't much appreciate it." As he said this, he backed up enough to stand up and straighten himself out and his point. Even so, the king's expression said otherwise.

 

"I will treat him however I please. He has done wrong and for that I will punish him." The king growled. "He is MY son. You cannot determine our relationship, Kaard."

 

Rouxls sighed. He was right. But not quite. "He mayeth be thy son. But I know'st him far better than thee."

 

<•>

 

The air felt stiff and heavy. It was almost hard to breath. Lancer groaned, feeling the whole world spin as he opened his eyes. His head hurt, and with time, so did his body. He could barely think straight.

 

What happened again...?

 

With everything he had, he stood up from the floor next to his broken bed and it's contents feeling disoriented. It was very apparent that he couldn't focus on anything. His vision was shifting in and out of darkness constantly from all the anxiety, his body was sore from being thrown like he had. Even now as he tried to steady himself, the floor seemed to sway beneath him. But even with all these things, he'd remembered why he was here.

 

His dad had found out. Everything had been taken from him.

 

Now that his father had seen his little escape, he was doomed. Now all he could do was wait for his punishment. Who knew what his dad would do to him this time? Hit him? Beat him within an inch of his life? Throw him over the edge...just like that craft he'd made so long ago...?

 

Trying to keep his breath steady, the boy shook his head, trying not to think about that. But as much as he tried, it seemed to come back. He hated it. With the passage now closed up, Lancer had no way to escape from his room or to the duke's house. No matter what he tried, nothing seemed to work at all. And on top of it all, his father had decided to destroy his room and his only means of comfortable sleep.

 

Rouxls. The spade boy suddenly realized that he and his father were now probably on edge with each other more than ever. It worried him.

 

No. He couldn't just sit around and wait to see what happened. He wanted to help; to see that everything would go okay and that he wouldn't be prevented from seeing the only other person who cared about him. Yes, trying to help. That's what would make a better connection between his father and Rouxls. The idea was worth a shot.

 

With a slightly clearer mindset now, Lancer headed for his door with a plan in mind. It seemed as though all his aches had gone away for the moment. He'd sneak out without being noticed and try and find the two. The last he remembered, they would be in the throne room. That's at least what he remembered his dad saying. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

 

He approached the entrance to his room thinking it over one more time. Thankfully, spades weren't blocking the door this time, so finding a means of escape was easy. There were also a regular patrol of guards. But they never really paid much attention to anything. Lancer knew very well that his dad had probably ordered the guards to make sure he didn't wander. But regardless of if they were ordered or not, he carefully snuck by, being cautious that he didn't get caught. For a moment, the spade prince felt very sneaky, and admired the quiet footsteps he was making.

 

He was almost there when he spotted one of the Rudinn Rangers and a Head Hathy. Both looked very alert and proficient at their jobs, keeping watch of any movement about the area they scouted. Both marched along a set path just in front of the entrance to the throne room, suspiciously looking around. It was clear there was no way to get past them unnoticed.

 

"Uh oh..." Lancer whispered, peering around the corner just out of sight of the two guards.

 

But as he sat there quietly, he could hear his father raising his voice, along with another voice battling against his. They were arguing, but for what it was, he could only imagine it was about him.

 

Mustering up what courage he had, Lancer looked around for a plan, when his foot hit against a rock. He looked down seeing the rather apparent rock nuzzled tightly into the corner of the wall and floor. It looked like a relatively good size to hold in his hand, the grooves appearing almost perfect for fingers to slide into.  An idea started in his mind.

 

"Here goes..." The spade whispered. He grabbed the rock, admiring its perfect fit in his hand. Then, he pulled it behind him and threw it against the far wall. The rock clacked harshly against the opposing surface, sending out a sharp pang. It bounced off of the wall and roughly hit the ground at an angle.

 

"Who's there!?" The Ranger called, clearly fixing his attention to the sudden noise. Lancer, taking this opportunity, hid away past another corner just in time for the guards to investigate the mysterious rock.  Then, he tiptoed by, keeping an eye on the two guards as they examined the rock. Everything was going smoothly until—

 

"Prince Lancer!" The Rudinn Ranger called. The boy jumped, body going stiff with fear. "What are you doing here? The king had specific orders for you to stay in your room."

 

Lancer looked around, thinking of what to say. "I had to...um...go to the bathroom?" He said, edging more towards a question than he'd wanted it to. This was becoming difficult. And Lancer was feeling more and more desperate to get out of it.

 

"Uh..." The ranger started as the Head Hathy came up from behind with the rock in one of its tentacles. "The bathroom isn't this way."

 

"O-oh...!" The spade prince said. "I guess I took a wrong turn?" This was going all wrong. These guards weren't supposed to notice him. That rock should have been a good enough distraction. He should have been quieter. And his dad probably wouldn't keep up this charade with the Duke for long before he broke.

 

"You're not supposed to be here, my prince. Here, allow us to escort you." Said the Ranger, offering a hand with a sharp weapon in it.

 

"I..." Lancer hesitated. If the guards got him now, he would never get to his dad in time. Even now, he could hear the voices becoming much louder and shorter-tempered. Lancer tried to think of something, Anything! There was some way out of this, surely.

 

"Well?" The Rudinn Ranger pushed, coming closer to the boy. He couldn't think of what to do. Why couldn't he?

 

"I don't...I don't want to." Lancer rejected before he could stop himself. What was he doing?

 

"Excuse me?" The Ranger questioned as the Head Hathy came closer. They hummed in confusion.

 

"I said..." Lancer started. Magic prickled at the tips of his fingers, traveling up his hand and through his whole body. "I don't want to!" Spades showered down harshly in a straight line, creating a falling blockade of spades which separated the guards from him.

 

The guard looked dumbfounded. But Lancer didn't care. Though curious if it was pure adrenaline, the guards were out of his way for the time being, and now he could make it to the throne room. Distant calls of his royal name covered by a wall of spades faded behind him as he ran to the entrance.

 

His feet skidded across the smooth marble flooring below, eyes darting from the massive throne to two figures behind it.   

 

"That's enough, Kaard!" His father, the first figure, shouted, summoning a few spade bullets aimed straight at the second figure, Rouxls.

 

"Dad!" Lancer shouted, stopping his father before he could fire the spades. The king turned suddenly, gasping and taking a step back at the sight of the spade prince standing before the two. His expression suddenly shifted to that of anger.

 

"You dare get in our way!" His father bellowed, stomping up to the boy. Lancer backed up, stumbling in his footsteps and falling backwards onto the hard flooring below.

 

"I'm sorry I—!" Lancer choked on his words, seeing his father tower over him.

 

Rouxls interjected, "Sire, please. He is't only a childe. Let him come—" But his interjection was stopped when he fell to the ground from a mighty hand hitting him directly in the chest.

 

"No!" The prince cried, reaching his hand out to the duke who lay flat on the ground for a moment.

 

"Don't you dare move." His father warned, stomping a foot down on the ground in front of Lancer. He recoiled his hand and crawled backwards a few feet.

 

"I'm sorry." Lancer whimpered. He wasn't sure how much of a right decision it was to see them anymore. He felt he was making things worse by being here. But had he not gone here, someone could have possibly gotten hurt. As Lancer looked, he saw a menacing smile form on his dad's face.

 

The king chuckled, looming over the boy now. "How convenient."

 

Lancer felt confused for a moment. Rouxls, now on his knees, called out to the king, "No no, your majesty, don't!"

 

The king laughed again. "I'm not doing it to the boy. That would be far too cruel of me. But I see he has grown attached to you. And for that, he is shamed. He deserves a lesson for what he did. Now seems to be the perfect opportunity." The spade prince watched as fear struck into the duke's eyes. He too began to realize what his dad meant.

 

"Don't hurt him! I've learned my lesson, I promise I won't do it ever again!" Lancer loudly and frantically blubbered. No, he couldn't hurt Rouxls for the mistake that Lancer had made.

 

"My son. You will not understand. Not until you see." The king said, lifting up a hand to summon something.

 

The ground below and around Lancer's feet rumbled rigidly, followed by the sudden cracks and splits which formed around him. He backed into a wall as they shot up, creating a semicircle up against said wall. Spades like giant spears shot from the ground, creating a cage around the spade boy. They stood mightily, reaching all the way to the ceiling.

 

"There must be another choice, mine Lorde. Lancer mustn't go through this!" The Duke of puzzles objected, backing up away from the king as he turned around to face him.

 

The king only smiled. "I hear you're not a very good fighter without your magic. Perfect."

 

"Dad, no!" Lancer cried. He tried to touch the bars encasing him in his prison, but recoiled at the sudden singing pain which shot up his arm. The bars were still attacks, as Lancer soon realized.

 

"Emotional attachment, son, is what makes you so weak." His father said, turning behind him to face the spade prince. "You will learn to stop that now." Lancer felt his blood run cold, his heart rate becoming faster by the second.

 

The king turned back around to face Rouxls, who stood defensively. He started, "You wouldn't—" But he was cut off when a harsh shower of spades which came falling endlessly.

 

Lancer watched terrified, as the bullets fell faster than the duke could dodge. The boy continuously yelled at his dad to stop, watching as many bullets hit their target. Attack after attack made it look hard for the duke to dodge, as many made him stumble and get hit.

 

The spade prince continued to yell, voice starting to catch in his very dry throat as he shouted for them to stop. More attacks, more strikes, and Lancer could do nothing to stop it. He felt his whole body shake intensely at that thought. But a sudden idea rushed to his mind. Without thinking, he rammed into the cage keeping him trapped. It hurt, but not as bad as what he'd been forced to witness.

 

He tried again, more forceful this time. Part of the bars began to break; ever so slightly fracturing against his force.

 

Again Lancer looked, seeing his dad form another string of attacks. He gasped, seeing spear like spade strike Rouxls across the chest and causing a spray of blood. The duke fell down, barely seeming to catch himself as he fell down on his hands and knees.

 

"This isn't fair!" The Duke shouted, grabbing at the wound. "You have my magic. You will kill me!" His magic? Was his father stealing the duke's magic? Whatever it meant, Lancer couldn't quite focus on. He had to focus on getting out of his cage first.

 

His father laughed in return as Lancer began to hit himself against the cage again. "That's the point!" Hearing this, the boy tried harder to ram the bars. He began to go again and again, but caught sight of another attack. It wasn't the king who summoned it.

 

"Well, thou may'st try thine hardest, but thou forgoteth one of mine abilities!" Rouxls shouted, rising to one knee and hitting the ground with a bloodied fist. He summoned an attack of his own which looked to be a combination of all sorts of things. It shot forward, striking the king almost the whole time. But it barely caused any heavy damage.

 

"Pathetic. These attacks do nothing!" The king huffed, brushing off spent magic from his body.

 

"No. Howevere, that was enough for thine attention to become'st distracted." The Duke said. Something like a panel glowed beside him with fancy words and bullet points. It flowed with a new sentence which looked like it read something about health. It vanished within seconds.

 

"How dare you commit such tyranny!" Bellowed the king, throwing a large spade which attached to a string. It struck the duke. Lancer gasped, but suddenly saw that no damage came from the attack. In fact, it caused Rouxls to gain some health back. The spade attack shattered into thin air, floating up as used magic.

 

The duke chuckled, "What? Art thou surprised'st? Changing the rules is't nothing at all!" Lancer smiled slightly, feeling happy about that. That was, until he saw how unaffected his father was by that.

 

"Oh really?" The king questioned. "Last I checked, those rules only last for one of the opposing team's strikes. Looks like that's already up."

 

Lancer gasped suddenly, watching another unexpected attack stuck forth and hit Rouxls head on. It caused a plume of smoke to rise, at which the Duke had suddenly been slammed into the wall behind.

 

Lancer had to help. So he continued to ram himself into the spade bars, not caring how much noise it may have caused. It would give way. He could make it before his dad did anything horrible.

 

More attacks flew from both sides. The king made more attacks than the Duke had. But both were becoming very tired, an apparent darker tone in one another's eyes indicating loss of energy.

 

"Admit it, you're becoming tired. You know I will claim victory." The king taunted, throwing more attacks out between puffs of breath.

 

"Untrue! I can last'st!" The Duke of puzzles declined, nearly missing another set of attacks. Again, that same panel came up as the duke began to alter the rules yet again. But his attention had been diverted. Little had he realized, the king had brought out his second mouth, extending the tongue-like spade out and rapidly wrapping it around the duke's waist.

 

"No!" Lancer shrieked suddenly, witnessing as his dad pulled Rouxls in closer before he could momentarily alter the list of rules again. But the duke didn't give up, raising a hand into the air and trying again to summon the list.

 

"Ha! Too slow!" The king countered, grabbing Rouxls' arm in mid air and holding it there.

 

The duke struggled to get free of the king's mighty grasp, failing. "Unhand me! Let me—" He started to say, but his mouth was covered by the king's other hand, muffling the objection. He grasped at the king's hold, kicking his feet which now dangled a few inches from the ground.

 

"I've had enough of your bickering." The king growled. "It's about time I finished with you." He readjusted his hand around the duke's arm and squeezed. A sickly dull snap rang out, followed by a muffled cry from the duke of puzzles. He continued to struggle out of the king's grasp, arm limply flailing in the larger man's mighty grasp.

 

Lancer felt himself hyperventilating, his head going lighter than before. He began to run into the cage again to break it. It was so close to being broken. Only a few more hits. Crying out exhaustedly, he bashed into his prison one final time before it gave way. He fell to the ground, scraping against the rough flooring and broken particles of spade based magic. He felt dazed from falling so hard but refused to give up. He had to get there before his father killed him.

 

He pushed himself from off of the ground nearly out of breath, and summoned a dozen rows of spades. "S-Stop it now, or else!" Lancer shouted, voice vividly shaking with each word. Standing in front of his spades, Lancer watched as his dad disbelievingly looked up and stopped what he'd been doing.

 

His father chided, "Or else what, boy? You'll shoot those pathetic bullets at me? A worthless effort. You could miss me entirely, and shoot him instead." At this, his dad lifted Rouxls a little higher in front of him who continued his pain-filled struggle.

 

Lancer hesitated, bullets faultering. He was right. The spade prince was never good with aim in terrifying situations. And seeing how poorly Rouxls was doing, it was hard to tell if he would last a mishap attack like that.

 

He replied, "No. I j-just...." He pushed down the lump which had formed in his throat. "You'll kill him...you..."

 

"Feeble." His father huffed. "His life means nothing."

 

"I've l-learned my lesson. If that's w-what y-you want." Lancer whimpered, lip quivering. He gulped hard against the burning tears which threatened to spill. He couldn't cry. It was weak. "Please. J-Just let him go...? He's hurt." Lancer could barely see his dad's expression anymore past the blurry tears which crowded almost every inch of his vision.

 

"No." Came his father's reply. "N o t u n t i l h e ' s d e a d."

 

Shock struck Lancer, heart racing faster now, as he watched the king let go of Rouxls. He fell to the ground on his hands and knees with a dull thud, gasping for air. A line of spades from below shot from the ground, sending a spray of crimson color into the air. The whole world seemed to stop, a slow silence filling the room. Lancer's eye's widened, the sound of his gasp seeming to slow with time as he watched. There was a wide-eyed expression the Duke held, looking straight at Lancer with a look of Sorrowful failover.

 

The spades dispersed, floating up into sparse particles.

 

A nearly lifeless body fell limply to the ground.

 

No.

 

No no no.

 

"Do you see now, son, what emotional attachment does?" His father questioned. But he could barely hear him; could barely breath. Lancer fell to his knees and crawled frantically over, grabbing  at Rouxls' limp hand and feeling for some sort of pulse. It felt so cold. A light pulse could be felt, but even that seemed to dim with each stuttering beat.

 

He was...dead.

 

"You...you killed him." Lancer shakily muttered. "You killed him. You killed him." The words escaped his mouth in short gasps, as he could barely comprehend that fact himself. It was pulling at him, hard, harder. He felt like he was going to burst.

 

"I—"

 

The spade prince suddenly screamed, filling the vast room with his piercing voice. He went out until he ran out of breath. When he did, he took short breaths in to continue more, trying to replace the shattered, broken feeling of his heart with the noise. Eventually his voice became hoarse, and he stopped to choke out a few pained coughs. The haunting echoes of his shrieks lingered in protest to stay longer, fading in defeat. His father suddenly stumbled backwards at the noise.

 

Hands and knees dipped into a thick puddle of blood, intermixing with salty tears. "We have to help. He can't die, he can't."

 

"Get up." His father ordered. Lancer didn't move.

 

He only stared at the body before him; the only father who cared about him. The blue color on his skin seemed to dull. He could barely see the duke's face past all the white and bloodied hair, which looked like it had grown a shade whiter. But he didn't dare look. It was hard enough to think that he was...

 

No. He can't be. That couldn't be a thing. Lancer couldn't think straight, trying to use his healing magic which he'd been taught by Rouxls. Yes, this would work. He could bring him back.

 

"Lancer get away from him." The king said, reaching out to grab the boy. But the spade prince lashed out at him, full of rage, accidentally wiping blood onto his father's hand.

 

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Lancer shouted once more, voice very hoarse. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. BUT WE HAVE TO HELP HIM, GOD DAMN IT!"

 

  
♤♧♡♢


	6. Alive or not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight has happened. But has the duke of puzzles really survived?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look another chapter! After a million years later! Isn’t school just the greatest!?!?!?!? hA
> 
> Ok ok but seriously, thank you all who have read this far. You guys are amazing and I really appreciate you guys. :) 
> 
> Also there may be some typos.

"Come on...please...wake up...?" How peculiar. Who was that? Their voice seemed common. Vaguely common at that—but enough to recognize it. It could have had similarities to a neighbor or a close friend. Perhaps he'd passed by them in the dark world somewhere at sometime? Or perhaps...

 

A sliver of light passed through the dark void of Rouxls' consciousness, as muffled voices faded in and out of his hearing. It was hard to understand them at first. They were muffled, like his ears had been stuffed with cotton. The tone of the voice seemed to brim with stress about the situation at hand. But about what? Had something happened?

 

No. Nothing had happened. At least, nothing he could remember. Everything had been relatively fine. The last he could recall...he was with someone. He wasn't quite sure who. But it was someone. That someone and him were doing something fun together. Then...it went blank. All just blank.

 

A numb feeling unexpectedly nudged at his side. "Come on..." There was that voice again. It sounded so awfully familiar. It was as if he could almost put his finger on it. It was at the tip of his tongue. He's swore he'd heard it somewhere...Who could it possibly be? Was it the person he'd seen before the blank in his memory? Was it someone he briefly knew? Or maybe someone he didn't know? Who—

 

......Lancer.

 

Everything was coming back. The argument, the fight—

 

The sliver of light became wider, followed by a strange gasp just to his left. Brightness seemed to engulf his vision, blinding him momentarily in a bright white. It was headache inducing, aggravating a much unneeded migraine which wracked at his head.

 

Rouxls groaned, unable to focus on where he was. Everything was extremely blurry and so disorienting. Regardless, he tried to see whatever he could. At first he could see the poles of a metal frame bed, then the colors of black yet thin comforters. They felt warm. A blue hand lay limply close to a small bump which he could only assume to be his body. On top of that bump was his other arm, wrapped in a pale white wrapping. It felt stiff. It was then he had concluded he was probably in the small hospital wing of the castle. He didn't know why. It just seemed that way.

 

He wanted to get a closer look for better understanding of why, however. But as he tried to focus harder, another pounding sensation in his head caused him to squeeze his eyes shut once more. But even doing that caused some of the aches to continue. It took what felt like an eternity for the pain to pass, even though it had only taken mere seconds. Eventually though, it mellowed enough to open his eyes.

 

So to try not to aggravate the pain, he opened them only slightly to see Lancer at his side with a worried expression. "Lan...cer...?"  His words felt so out of focus; discombobulated by an uncontrolled disfunction of the body's communications. Everything in his mouth suddenly felt numb.

 

"Yes, yes it's me!" Lancer seemed to cry, tears forming at the edges of where his eyes should be. The prince then scooted a little closer, grabbing at Rouxls' unwrapped and holding it shakily. Lancer then gently  but shakily squeezed his hand whilst a single tear rolled down his cheek. "I...I thought you were dead..."

 

"...D-...dead...?" Rouxls breathed, still unable to shape his words entirely. The idea boggled his mind that he could have been dead. Surely he hadn't...died.

 

"You had a pretty nasty injury. It sure looked like you were dead." Came a gruff voice, sounding ever so slightly gentle with each word. Confused at the new voice, the Duke turned his head slightly to find himself staring at an awfully familiar face.

 

"...S-Seam?" Rouxls said, words a little more coherent, though the feeling of his stiff neck causing a bit of pain as he spoke.

 

"He he, that's me." Seam replied, coming a little closer to the bedside.

 

Seam, as Rouxls had recalled, was another shopkeeper found closer to the outskirts of the fields. He had seen the man many times in the past and only occasionally when he went to fix or improve puzzles. They were nothing more than acquaintances, that of which he knew mostly from the fight with the imprisoned jester.

 

"What are...are you doing here?" Rouxls asked, stumbling a little on his words. A new headache was starting. Seam's ears twitched slightly.

 

" 'Came here to visit an old friend. But the Castle seemed to be in a commotion." Seam began. "...Come to find out, it was you they were panicking about. You should just be glad I came here at the right time to heal you."

 

"Thou knoweth healing magic?" Rouxls then questioned, shifting his head to a more comfortable position over a pillow which he hadn't realized was there until he'd moved.

 

Seam nodded and said, "Yep. Though, I have to say, Prince Lancer was a help. Had he not started healing you when he did, you would have surely perished." The old shopkeeper chuckled grimly, ear twitching. "Since well...my magic isn't as good as it used to be."

 

"Lancer...healed me?"

 

Lancer nodded, saying, "Yeah. I...I tried my best." Rouxls felt the boy squeeze his hand again, but a little harder. He was practically crying now.

 

It was incredible that Lancer had done that. Even after such horrible events...he'd still have the courage to push through. Rouxls weakly smiled at Lancer, taking his hand and cupping it around the boy's cheek. It had taken a lot of strength just to do the action, but it was worth the struggle.

 

Wiping away the tears from Lancer's cheek with his thumb, he smiled back and breathily responded, "Thank you. I...I hopeth you know thou'r such a...a strong and brave little one." Lancer nodded in return, giving out a breathy, weepy, but happy giggle.

 

"Now that you're awake," Seam began, "I find it best you uh...take it easy. While you are stable, you are still weak. Just don't do anything too crazy, alright?" As he said this, he took out two small dark candies from his bag and set them on a close by nightstand.

 

"Of course."

 

"Good." Seam said. "Well then...I'd better get going. Keep an eye on him for me, will you, Prince Lancer?" Lancer nodded in reply, humming weakly whilst wiping away some wet spots on his face.

 

"Thou'r leavinge so soon...?" Rouxls questioned. Seam's ears twitched to a lower position.

 

"You know very well why I came here initially, Rouxls." He stated darkly. "I was glad to help. But I really do have to go now."

 

"Righte." The Duke muttered, realizing what a was talking about now. "Well...thank you...for the hospitality."

 

"Yeah yeah, I'll be back," Seam said, turning his back to the two and wavinghis open paw. Bag in hand, he walked with a noticeable slow manor, until he was out of sight. Rouxls could tell that Seam had probably expended a lot of magic just to heal him. It must have affected some of his physical scars as well...

 

Now everything was starting to become a bit quiet. A light ambiance seemed to flow through the room. The sounds of distant music echoed dimly in the halls, reverberating their calls as a lot of questions which suddenly came to Rouxls. Had he really perished? What had happened while he was gone? How long had he been out?

 

"How...how are you feeling?" Lancer quietly asked, filling in the sudden silence which had nearly engulfed the place.

 

"I've felt bettere," Rouxls started, taking in a much needed breath of air to continue. "But...thou maketh it feel ten times as better." Lancer hummed.

 

"That's good at least." Lancer sighed, relieved. The boy was still holding onto the duke's hand tightly.

 

Another wave of quietness fell upon them. Those questions still remained. It bothered him that he wanted to ask. But he wasn't so sure Lancer was okay with it. He'd been through a lot, and Rouxls was sure Lancer wouldn't take well to a question like that. Maybe...

 

"Lancer? May'st I...asketh thou a...a query?" Rouxls questioned, feeling still that his breath was not coming to him.

 

"Like...what?"

 

"Well I...was'st not particularly conscious after everythinge that happened and..." Rouxls could practically see the way Lancer's face dimmed at the realization of the upcoming question. "Could you...tell me what happened...?"

 

"Oh...um...It was um..." Lancer mumbled, seeming slightly uneasy. The duke immediately felt regret for asking such a question. Of course the boy wouldn't be stable enough. Neither was he, really.

 

"Tis okay," Rouxls reassured, "I knoweth thou—"

 

"It was my father." Lancer spouted, interrupting Rouxls before he could finish. 

 

"What?"

 

"My father." Lancer repeated. "If it wasn't for him you would...you would have...you would have died! I tried healing you but my magic-it's just-it's not that good! There was no way I could have healed you all the way without passing out. He was the one who brought you back up to good health before Seam came to do the rest.

 

"But he only healed you enough to make sure you weren't down—to make sure you had health. The Hathies took you here to the hospital wing and cleaned everything up afterward and-and I..I made sure I followed close behind.  I watched them take better care of...of your injuries. Seam said it didn't hit any of your vital organs. Father didn't look too happy about that. When he was healing you, he didn't look happy either. It was like...like he was disappointed about something...and...and..."

 

Lancer paused, seeming to stumble off on his words until he fell silent.

 

Rouxls felt dumbfounded.

 

The king...of all people.

 

Why the king...?

 

"Did he really-...?" Rouxls found himself muttering.

 

Lancer began to tear up. "I was just so...glad." Lancer began, voice starting to shake. "I didn't want to see it anymore. I didn't want to." Lancer's breath began to waver, becoming faster. "I was just so...I couldn't-I...That...that's why isn't it...?"

 

"Is't...not what-"

 

Lancer interrupted, a bit louder now. "That's why he healed you. He's going to do it again isn't he? He's going to hurt you again, isn't he!? Oh God I-" He stopped to catch his breath. Tears unexpectedly started to fall at a rapid pace. Rouxls watched, seeing as Lancer squeezed harder onto his hand and onto the bed's sheets, folding them into intense creases. His breathing started to fall into a fit of hyperventilation. "He'll hurt you! He can't, I don't want him to! He can't, he can't he-!" Lancer began to continually desperately gasp for air.

 

Rouxls had to do something. Lancer was clearly in a panicked state. He couldn't let it go, regardless of how bad he would disorient himself considering his condition.

 

With a quick breath of fresh air, Rouxls hoisted himself up to sit upright, faster than he ever could. It hurt his chest, and it was dizzying. But that didn't matter. While a rapidly increasing dizziness fell upon him, he slipped his hand from out of Lancer's grasp and around the boy's body. With what energy he had left, he pulled Lancer closer to him, pulling him into a one-armed hug, now noticing that his other one was probably broken hence the reason why it was in a cast.

 

"Lancer. Lancer listen to me." He started, feeling how badly the Lancer shook in his arm. The boy quieted slightly, hiccuping. "Can you hear me?"

 

"I-I...He'll...he...!" Lancer shakily blubbered.

 

"Listen to me. Take a deep breath for me." Though he could barely see Lancer past a cloud of dizziness, Rouxls could hear him take in a really shaky breath, but continued his rapid breathing pace.

 

Rouxls continued, trying to figure out how to stop the panic, "Listen to me, Lancer. I want you to breath...in and out. Can you do that for me? Just breath...in...and out...in...and out." He continued to repeat these words, and as he did, the dizziness for himself began to go away. He could see Lancer again, following along with his words as he repeated a steady breathing process. Eventually, Rouxls stopped talking and let Lancer continue on.

 

It took a long while, long breaths, shakiness, some dizziness. But the prince had finally relaxed enough to speak again.

 

"I'm sorry..." Lancer whimpered, wiping his eyes whilst sighing shakily and heavily.

 

"There is't no needeth to be sorrye." Rouxls answered, holding Lancer closer to his chest. "Thou've been through a plenteous of treacherous things. Thou deserveth better."

 

"You...you think so...?" Lancer asked with a slightly croaky voice, sniffling.

 

"I thinketh so." Rouxls replied quietly.

 

Lancer sighed, seeming better than before. "...I...guess so..." He then yawned.

 

Noticing the yawn, Rouxls said, "Thou art tired. You should'st geteth some rest." Lancer wiped his eyes again, but in a more tired manor more than a way to wipe away tears.

 

"I guess I should get to bed..."

 

"Say no more." He uttered. "Thou may'st rest here."

 

"Do you...do you promise you'll stay with me...?"

 

Rouxls paused on these words for a moment, realizing seconds later what Lancer meant. Smiling, he replied, "I promise." As he said this, Lancer began to doze, snuggling himself unto the open space of the bed until he fell into a fit of sleep from lost energy. Rouxls then muttered moments after, "I should rest."

 

_**< \----->** _

 

Half an hour had passed. Rouxls, now more recovered, sat upright in bed which a couple of pillows as a back and neck support. It had happened not long after Lancer's sudden panic attack. A Hathy placed the secondary pillow behind the duke's upper back, which allowed him to sit upright and comfortably on the bed without the hustle of wearing himself out or causing any unwanted dizzy spells. He thanked the Hathy, who waved back with a careful smile before leaving.

 

Lancer now slept next to him, calmer than he'd ever seen him before. Because of everything that had happened recently, it had become extremely common to see the boy in a state of stress. So in a way, it was good to see him like this.

 

Everything was silent. It gave off a tranquil stillness in the air as candles lit the small room he was in.

 

The room. That was right.

 

This whole time while his mind had become preoccupied with other things, he hadn't had a chance to look around.

 

Sure, Rouxls had been in the small hospital wing some time before, but never too often to noticed its fine details. Several beds similar to the one he lay in lined the walls, paired with a small wooden table; a candelabra on the wall above that. Each bed bared a black comforter on top on them to match the color of the walls, seeming to be a light grey in the light of the candles.

 

His own bed was roughly the same, spare a few extra details. He could see his uniform laid over the bed's footboard; large crimson stains surrounding gaping holes around the center of of the chest. That was probably where he was stabbed from...

 

Shaking off a sudden chill, Rouxls looked farther along.

 

A fresh set of his more casual clothes sat neatly folded at the far edge of the bed next to his tattered uniform. On top was a small piece of paper which looked like it had handwriting similar to one of the Head Hathies he knew. They had probably gotten it for him.

 

Now, he looked at himself. The bottom half of his body was covered by the light bedsheets, but he could still feel that he was wearing his uniform's pants still. His own chest was covered mostly by lightly stained bandages. His arm bared the same bandages, just stiffer so to conceal what was probably a broken arm. It was hard to tell if it was broken though because of how numb it felt.

 

Rouxls began to look more to take in his environment. However, that was interrupted by the sudden sound of light, staggering footsteps.

 

When he turned his head, he spotted Seam coming into view, heading calmly and somewhat quietly toward him.

 

"You're still awake." Seam started, stopping abruptly at the end of the bed.

 

"Yes...I am'st awake." The duke replied. "Dost thou needeth something?

 

Seam's ears twitched as he cleared his throat. "I was just, uh, here to check on you. See that you were still alive, heh." Again, his ears twitched, seeming bugged by something. Seam then looked away, hiding his face slightly of an apparent doubtful look.

 

"Is't...Is't that all?" Rouxls then asked, wondering why he was acting this way. His immediate thought while Seam stood there silently was that he was still taken back from his visit with his 'friend'. But even that seemed too far fetched.

 

Seam then sighed saying, "I've...been meaning to tell you something."

 

"What might that be...?" Rouxls questioned, several thoughts crossing his mind. "Is't somethinge the matter?"

 

"I..." Seam started, hesitating. "Rouxls...you're not actually...better."

 

"Wh...what do you mean?" Rouxls then asked, feeling a wave of nervous uncertainty seem to waft over him.

 

"I mean you're dying."

 

Shock suddenly hit Rouxls, his chest seeming to reflexively tighten. "I'm...I'm what...?" It was all so strange to hear such words. So rattling. Sudden swarms of thoughts began to fall faster than he could comprehend, questions all scattered and echoing no answer.

 

"I found out while I was healing you. I couldn't heal you all the way and when I checked, I found that your body was failing." Seam continued grimly, paw in front of his chest, clenching and unclenching subtly into a fist. "I...I would have told you sooner. But I just couldn't tell you while Lancer was awake. I wouldn't want the prince to find out about this. I'm not sure he'd handle it well right now."

 

Rouxls could barely respond in return, stumbling blindly through a scramble of syllables racing through his head. It was all so convoluted to him. The very thought that even though he had narrowly escaped death, he had fallen right back into death's grasp. And to think now, surviving has meant nothing.

 

He was suddenly brought to the thought of Lancer. He was sure that he wouldn't take well at all to the news. And he didn't want to have to ruin the boy's newfound hope. He was sure he would have a break down. Nothing about this was good. Dying at a time like this was not good.

 

Rouxls looked down at Lancer sleeping calmly by his side, squeezing him a little closer with his good arm. After a long fit of heavy silence, he asked fearfully, "How long do I have to live?"

 

Seam looked away slightly, sighing. "If you're lucky...three weeks."

 

♤♧♡♢


End file.
